We’re going to keep this short, like Rupert.

Yesterday, I got a message from a nice person asking for some professional advice because they were hearing a lot of conflicting information amidst a total lack of consensus on the “state of things.” Things, in this case, refers to design/research as a field and as a job, and tech as an industry and as a factor in current conditions. (We’re leaning into compartmentalization in this one.)

And honestly, this is the State of Things. We’ve lost our sense of consensus reality, and this has been the case for some time. And that makes it hard to know what to do, even in our compartment.

Oof, OK, this brief update got really big all of a sudden. But here’s where design comes in.

The work of design is intentionally improving conditions under uncertainty. In the words of David Graeber, “The ultimate hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make and could just as easily make differently.” (Easily is … debatable.) 

What we do is grounded in the belief that we don’t have to accept the way things are, as long as we are willing to face why they’re like that, and clear on our role.

Design thought itself really big for a while there, and that didn’t seem to lead to improved conditions in quite the way we’d hoped. So it’s time for design to get small, ditch the self-aggrandizing abstractions, and confront existing systems with humility. We can work together one intentional choice to do better in one specific situation at a time (following the hard conversations about what better actually means, of course).

A few specific ways we try to help

Let’s Do Design Research Right! on Thursday, January 15th

Build that shared reality question by question.

Presenting with Confidence on Thursday & Friday, January 22nd/23rd

Tell better stories, give useful feedback, and stop sabotaging yourself, so you can be more effective.

Newsletter pals can use code FRIENDO for 10% off either workshop.

Team Research Experience

Is your organization gathering a lot of data, but still fighting over what it means? Or do you feel like you’re just not learning what you need to? We can help.

We have a 6-week program for teams that fits in with your other work and gets results. Learn more »

Conversational Design

The first edition is still available as a free download while we figure out what the heck to say in the next one. (Visit the merch store while you’re there.)

Stuff we’ve enjoyed 🚌

A Spanish tinned fish website (don’t eat elvers, though).

The Kneecap movie is the fictional origin story of the real Irish rap group, and a lot of fun.

Bus! This Danish ad is a few years old. Still good. Get buspilled.

Be safe out there, please. We love you.❤️