I happened upon this interview with Hugh Dubberly, by Steven Heller. A link to download the whole PDF is below, and I’ve quoted two bits I think are particularly relevant to designers.

Design has moved from a focus on form and meaning to a focus on action and interaction. Increasingly, designers are faced with the need to design integrated systems. Systems of systems. Connected sets of products and services. These systems form ecologies that grow and evolve. Their outcome cannot be pre-determined. Even the full range of use may be difficult to predict.

Dubberly describes his ideal design curriculum for changing design practice below. Sounds like the ideal 21st-century designer is a creative polymath:

What skills should the new media and digital designer learn to
be literate in this field?

The main thing for designers is to be curious—and to learn how to
learn. My ideal curriculum might look something like this.

Design Theory:
- Design Methods
- Research Methods
- Information Structures and Key Models
- Principles of Interaction
- Philosophy and Ethics of Design

Visual Studies:
- Principles of Visual Perception
- Rapid Visualization Drawing
- Typography (editorial and display)
- Content Management Systems (grid systems)
- Way-finding Systems
- Information Design (visualizing information structures)
- Motion Graphics
- Sound Applied to Motion Graphics
- Film Making

Design Practice:
- Information Spaces
- Tools and Applications
- Games and Collaborative Authoring Environments
- Interactive Spaces
- Controls and Haptic Interfaces (physical interfaces)
- Integrated Systems of Products and Services
- Tools for Making Tools
- Systems that Evolve

History:
- of Art
- of Architecture
- of Graphic Design and Product Design
- of the Design Methods Movement
- of Science and Science Fiction
- of Information, Computing, and Interaction

Computer Science:
- Procedural Programming
- Data Structures
- Object-oriented Programming
- Web and Network Applications
- Building Sensors, Displays, and Actuators
- Modeling with Fractals, Genetic Algorithms,
and Cellular Automata

Communications:
- Writing
- Public Speaking
- Rhetoric
- Semiotics
- Epistemology
- Cybernetics (science of feedback)

Related Disciplines:
- Biology (natural systems)
- Cognitive Psychology (learning systems)
- Sociology (social systems)
- Cultural Anthropology and Ethnography
- Marketing
- Economics
- Organizational Management

Download it here. The rest of the interview is very interesting and I highly recommend reading the whole thing.

…with my previous post on democracy, and the current turmoil in Iran over the fraudulent election results.

I’m following the #IranElection activity on Twitter, though the posts there are raw, unfiltered, and it’s difficult to tell what is real, and what is not. The colour green (#28C0A6 is the precise hex code) is being used to indicate support for Mousavi.

Fascinating to see the power of the web at work—the BBC is currently receiving five videos per minute!

Something I keep returning to in my thoughts is the significance of travel, and how it changes us. It’s not as simple or easy as visiting somewhere else in the world, and then resuming normal living. If our eyes were open, we have changed. Travel exposes us to new cultures, new ideas. We absorb our environment: it changes us. Understanding how our environment shapes us is fundamental to design practice.

Visiting California in 2003 changed me: it solidified my decision to become a designer. Moving to Brighton in 2007 changed me by exposing me to a vibrant community of smart people doing exciting things. Visiting China in 2009 increased my awareness of my own country.

One thing that we take for granted is our freedom. It’s almost a cliché, but not quite. I was reminded recently how it isn’t yet a cliché; it’s far from a meaningless word, and it’s not something we should take for granted.

—

So when the British National Party secured two seats in the European Parliament as a result of the polls on June 4th, I felt mixed. There is no question that the British National Party is a deceitful party with unacceptable views. There is no question that it’s extremely depressing that so many British people voted for them. But I was sad at how people were dealing with it—after the results were published, Twitter was full of angry, violent, anti-democracy messages.

If the last few months have taught me anything, it’s how lucky we are as a nation to have an open dialogue with our government and politicians. We have press freedom: we make fun of our politicians. We don’t keep them on a pedestal: we keep ‘em firmly in the sty. And we take it for granted.

June 4th 2009 was also the 20th anniversary of massacre in Beijing—the anniversary of a deeply censored, taboo event which occurred in 1989, when the Chinese government murdered an unknown number of students demonstrating in Tiananmen square. Bystanders were also murdered, and even those in their houses, when stray bullets went through the thin walls.

Aiming ultimately for democracy, what the students wanted—initially—was simply a conversation. Talks failed, the government lost patience, and an estimated thousands died. The extent of the coverup and subsequent brainwashing is shocking; twenty years later, the Chinese government is shutting down websites around the event, to minimise conversation.

The Chinese government is going to extreme and ridiculous measures to keep people quiet, and the reality is that most Chinese people are brainwashed: generations will grow up knowing nothing of the event in 1989. I think it is terribly sad that the Chinese government is trusted and blindly loved by the people it deceives.

There is no doubt that learning about China has enhanced my appreciation of our freedom and democracy, and it’s wonderful that people can vote. We choose and elect; we mock and deride; we ultimately have the power.

This just popped up in my reader: a discussion hosted by Frog Design on design for the other 90% in China. The banner above is from the event; I liked it too much not to share it. That’s Chairman Mao, holding a mobile. It is emitting the light of knowledge, hope for the future, and flowers.

Sarah Lacy describes a cause for the fascination-factor with China succinctly:

What makes China so staggering is that everything that happened to corporate America over decades—think the television and media studios build out of the 1950s, the greed of the 1980s, the dot com bubble, the build out of physical and IT infrastructure, current Web 2.0 and CleanTech innovation—is all happening to China at once.

China is going through incredible rapid development and growth. Shenzhen was particularly interesting to visit because it’s exploding. Coastal City shopping mall is packed with tiny, expensive, homegrown brands. Development is going on everywhere: visibly and physically, with new buildings, business ventures, misguided architecture.

—

I’ve noticed that global US design companies with a China base are clustered in Shanghai: Frog Design is one of them, IDEO is also based in Shanghai, and there are many others, like Razorfish. Why are global US design companies choosing Shanghai to base their Asia office?

Shenzhen has the highest GDP of any Chinese city, but seems to lack the attraction for global design companies as Shanghai. This is possibly because Shenzhen isn’t as established as Shanghai: it’s young, formative, and under heavy development.

Shenzhen doesn’t have anything like Shanghai’s brand image. Shanghai has enough cultural sway to have its own Gothamist spin-off, Shanghaiist. Shanghaii’s skyline is identifiable enough to make it into a logo. What would Shenzhen’s Gothamist logo look like? Exactly: a construction site.

Shanghai has a strong brand image: foreigners perceive the city to be an economic centre. Shanghai is possibly a popular choice as it’s a shopping mecca: the culture may also provide commercial opportunities for design and advertising, and supply enough business to justify an Asian branch.

But I don’t know the answer. Sadly I can’t read Mandarin, I can’t find out much from Chinese websites and articles. But the culture of design, design companies in China generally, would be really interesting to explore.

So, for the meantime, questions…

Is design as we know it in the West a luxury in the East, where owning pyjamas, a bicycle and a TV is considered an excellent standard of living, and only 253 million out of a 1.31 billion population have internet access?

Eye-tracking sounds a bit silly next to something as basic as pyjamas. In fact, pyjamas are so luxurious they’re considered a bit of a status symbol…

What’s unquestionable is that there are some astonishing opportunities in China for designers. Apart from high GDP cities like Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing, there’s the rest of China.

Frog Design poses some interesting questions (here’s that event link again):

1. What are the key opportunities (health care, education, transport, energy, etc.) for international brands in China beyond the 1st tier?
2. What are the best ways to uncover and design for the unique needs of people living in these areas?
3. What can we learn from local Chinese brands that have been successful in 2nd tier cities?
4. How can companies leverage marketing, distribution, and pricing for business success in these areas?

I wish I could go along to this discussion in Shanghai on the 25th June with Kunal Sinha. In the meantime, I’ll watch from the ringside…