Welcome to Design Stories. We’re collecting narratives by designers of all types that illustrate their thinking process and approach to design.
Stories include:
- Look at Everything a Lot, from the architect Aleksis Lahti via his friend Gary Murphy. Aleksis was a master at studying a situation until he could see the problem behind the problem. In this story, he is thwarted by an unstoppable force of nature — until he realizes that fighting nature isn’t the real problem after all.
- A set of stories is from Mollie Callahan and Michelle Pomorski of Menlo Innovations. In The Sweet Spot, The Top 3 Board, Technology is Not the Solution, Why We Love Being Completely Wrong, and Small Change, Big Difference, Michelle and Mollie talk about the challenge of balancing client and user goals, introducing big changes in small steps, failing early and often, and the importance of keeping the focus on humans even in the most high-tech projects.
- Two stories that revolve around visual art: In The Numbers Story, Cydney Camp from Design Core Detroit asks herself, “How can I put a value on your own creative work in a way that helps me be more productive?” And in Draw Together, members of the Visual Arts Collective, a community hub for creative teens, talk about learning the difference between talent and creativity, becoming part of an art collective, and the magic of grocery bags.
- A three-part story from Katie Robertson and Diane Tamblyn of Wholemindesign. This Film is on Fire, Make Up Work, and The Whirlpool and the River touch on some of their breakthrough moments in teaching design to educators, and the balance of personal characteristics that makes their partnership work.
- Wisdom about incrementalism, learning, and effective teams, from two designers at Civilla, a Detroit-based design studio dedicated to changework.
If you have a story you would like to share, or know someone with a good design story, please contact us.