Title: Design in Tech Report 2018
Context: Smart folks with opinions deconstruct design’s role in technology. Reading what they write might make you a little smarter too.
Synopsis: There are loads of people claiming to know the future. Few are as thoughtful about this arrogance as John Maeda. His annual report is always a contemplative balance of data and prediction, being neither overoptimistic or overwrought and this year’s is no exception. The general themes have evolved from year to year as the role of design in technology finds its groove yet remain familiar enough to retain credibility. Between the business value of an embedded design practice and the coming need for design sensibility to balance the uncertainty of machine intelligence lies a range of humanist calls for inclusion and diversity. The special place that design holds in this conversation is not only the people-centric sensibility we can bring to these discussions but also the ethical empathy required to balance a “do because you can” mindset. You will find as many questions as answers in this presentation, but they seem to be the right ones and sparking thoughtful conversations is one of the things that we designers tend to be good at.
Best Bit: “Across 33 rich countries, only 5% of the population has high computer-related abilities, and only a third of people can complete medium-complexity tasks. What does this simple fact tell us? You are not the user, unless you’re designing for an elite audience.”
via designintech.report (best viewed in the Chrome browser)
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