176: Carissa Carter and Scott Doorley: Assembling Tomorrow
Oct 3, 2024
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Carissa Carter and Scott Doorley, designers at Stanford's d.school, dive into the unintended consequences of modern technology in their insightful discussion. They advocate for a transformative approach to design that prioritizes unity and healing over mere innovation. The duo highlights the emotional landscape of tech design, emphasizing the need for compassion in leadership and community-driven creativity. They explore the metaphor of being a 'good jig,' encouraging individuals to engage thoughtfully with technology and shape a positive future.
Designers must acknowledge the interconnectedness of their innovations, understanding how each decision impacts broader social and technological landscapes.
Emotional intelligence in design is crucial for fostering authentic user connections, making it essential to prioritize empathy over mere profit-driven solutions.
Deep dives
Runaway Design: A Modern Challenge
The concept of runaway design represents the rapidly evolving landscape of technology that often outpaces our ability to foresee its consequences. Unlike past technological revolutions, such as the Industrial Revolution, where negative impacts became evident over decades, today's design advancements—particularly in AI and social media—reveal repercussions almost immediately. For instance, the rise of social media has led to discussions around its correlation with increased mental health issues among teenagers, highlighting the difficulty of establishing causation in an environment evolving so quickly. This rapid advancement necessitates a paradigm shift in how we approach design, urging creators to evaluate not only the benefits of their innovations but also the potential for unintended harm.
The Interconnectedness of Design
Every design decision is deeply interconnected with other products, systems, and user experiences, creating a complex web that designers must navigate. For example, a smartphone powers various applications that connect users globally, illustrating how a single product is tied to experiences, services, and a larger network of technology. This interconnectedness requires designers to consider the broader implications of their work, including how each choice reverberates through the social and technological landscape. Acknowledging this network enriches the design process, encouraging a holistic view of creation that anticipates the cascading effects of innovations.
Emotions as Essential Drivers in Design
Human emotions play a pivotal role in design, impacting not only user interactions but also decision-making and creative processes. Research indicates that emotional responses are fundamental to decision-making, suggesting that neglecting emotional factors can lead to flawed designs that fail to resonate with users. By understanding the emotional landscape within which technology operates, designers can create solutions that foster authentic connections rather than merely manipulating feelings for profit. This nuanced understanding encourages creative processes that prioritize empathy and emotional intelligence, ultimately enhancing the user experience.
Practices for Responsible Design
To counter the challenges of runaway design, several actionable practices can guide designers toward more responsible and ethical creation. First, they should practice 'noticing' by identifying unseen issues in their work—what they call 'naming the monsters'—to engage with potential problems early in the design process. Second, embracing imperfection should be encouraged, as recognizing that all designs will have flaws can foster a more adaptive and responsive approach. Finally, designers should focus on long-term impacts, working toward creating a balance between innovation and the health of interpersonal and societal relationships, thereby crafting solutions that genuinely enhance human experience.
We live in an era of runaway design, where tech that once seemed to solve all of our problems has gone on to cause unintended consequences. Think about social media’s effect on our collective mental health. Or the once miraculous material known as plastic becoming an environmental hazard. But we can’t predict the future, so what can we do?
In this episode, designers from Stanford’s d.school, Carissa Carter and Scott Doorley, discuss their book “Assembling Tomorrow,” which thinks quite uniquely about design and offers ideas and practices for building and engaging with technology in a way that helps us flourish.
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