My Collection of Quotes

I never expected that I would learn Wayfinding, its principles, and other essential principles in Design ever in my life. Before taking this course, I was convinced that design requires one to be born with certain skills and some degree of talent to succeed in the field. This course proved to me it is not true: although talent and a good sense of people’s needs helps in using design to suit one’s goals, hard work and experience are ultimately the most important determinants of success in design.
I have collected some phrases throughout the semester from the lectures by the professor and the guests. I believe that the phrases are very helpful in understanding what design is and how we should approach it, so I am going to include them and offer my interpretation of them.
‘’Never underestimate how much you can progress.’’ This is motivation. This phrase shows that no matter our starting point in design, through sufficient and consistent practice, anyone can improve their skills a great deal. The best part about this phrase is we all already know that this holds true – all of us are much more knowledgeable and much better at design than we were at the start of our course!
‘’Sometimes it’s the better presentation, not the better design.’’ This is one of the things that the professor urged us not to forget. No matter how good your design is, to convince others and put it out there, you need to be a good presenter.
‘’Communication doesn’t have an opposite. There’s always communication.’’ I still remember that funny experience where I was instructed by the professor not to respond to him. But when he was bombarding me with questions, I felt like even though I was silent the whole time, the professor was able to extract some information on my persona on the way I was handling the silence task. By seeing that I smiled and almost laughed, the professor discovered my childish/goofy side. If I did not move a muscle on my face, which I did, he would still be able to get valuable information that I am serious when it comes to carrying out tasks. And if I ignored his task and proceeded with responses to him, he would still extract some valuable information on the way I behave myself with other people’s requests. In the end, communication exists everywhere – in silence too.
‘’What if the poster stays for one more day?’’ Although I do not remember what the poster was, I can still remember clearly why I wrote this down as an important quote. Design product should not lose its relevance after it has served its purpose. This question reminds me of the future–proof aspect of our designs – they should always be prepared to be used more, and not lose their effectiveness over time.
‘’We don’t always notice the exclusiveness of designs. Accessibility needs to go hand-in-hand with design.’’ This is self-explanatory. Design exists to serve people. If it serves not all but only some of them, then it is a bad design. Don’t be a bad designer.
‘’Complexity of the world requires that designers understand the needs and dilemmas.’’ Every epoch is characterized by certain prevalent ideas and public movements, and design is shaped under great influence by those ideas and movements. To be a good designer, one must know what epoch they are living in right now and be respectful of the values of that epoch. Moreover, designers have the power to influence those values through the propagation of their personal beliefs. Designers should be mindful of that and use it to better the world.
‘’Have experts help you with things that you are not competent at when you work on projects.’’ Designers often work in complex projects that require extensive knowledge in several areas. It is impossible to be an expert in all areas that exist, so chances are every designer will have to deal with things they don’t know at least once. At times like this, it is much wiser and more effective to ask for help and guidance, or even hire someone who is an expert in the field your project intersects with.
‘’In 20-30 years, where is your design going to be? Always ask yourself this question.’’ This ties in closely with the poster question from earlier: we should always think about the future of our designs, because designs that will not survive the changes of times will quickly be left out of attention and lose its effectiveness.
‘’How can we learn from our mistakes in the past?’’ Another valuable lesson every designer should hold dear to their heart is improvement. Design, from what I have learned so far, is a journey rather than a destination. Design always changes and designers unavoidably make mistakes. The most important thing is to learn from the mistakes. So exercise this habit of always asking yourself this question, not only in design but also in other areas of your life
‘’Emotions such as fears and anxiety need to be considered to develop an efficient design.’’ Design serves other people. People are full of emotions. Every action that we take and all the decisions that we make are heavily influenced by what we feel. Therefore, understanding what people could feel in certain situations is a must to becoming a more effective designer and implementing better Wayfinding solutions.
‘’People don’t always do what they say or what you expect them to do. People resist change. The greater the change, the stronger the objection. Therefore, always include people – your clients – in your project to make them feel more secure and safe.’’ Design serves people, but it also influences them. Any kind of influence can be considered a threat on a subconscious level, so it is natural that people might resist changes that design invokes. To solve this, from time to time designers should make people participate in their work to create an inclusive decision-making environment. There are other advantages to having clients help you – you will learn exactly what your clients want and how to create a work that pleases them the most.
These are some of the quotes that I feel are very valuable to learning the gist of Design and Wayfinding. These quotes made me realize the great importance of Design and all its little tricks that I would probably not learn from somewhere else, for which I am very grateful!