designer, entrepreneur, university teacher
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I wanted to be a writer as a teen... so storytelling was my first love. In my late teens, design became an obsession as I realized that I could express myself through the medium. Much later, when I founded Fuseproject in 1999, our slogan became 'design brings stories to life.'
Design needs a new relationship with the world, one that is more focused on our planet's needs.
Design is a tool that either allows us to create new markets or disrupt existing ones.
My mantra is: 'Good design accelerates the adoption of new ideas.'
What I learned from my years in Silicon Valley is that design can have a primary role in how a business is shaped, how a company can be design-driven. In my experience of large industry in Europe, that knowledge has been lost.
Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If it isn't ethical, it can't be beautiful. But if it isn't beautiful, it probably shouldn't be at all.'
The best design work is really done when you spend more time with people, when you have the opportunity to be of the same mindset and the same incentives as the founder of the business.
The best design work is really done when you spend more time with people, when you have the opportunity to be of the same mindset and the same incentives as the founder of the business.
When clients come to my design agency and say 'I want to be the Apple of this or that,' we say 'Okay, are you ready to be the Steve Jobs?' Few are up to the task.