When does our job become our life philosophy? As Buchanan mentions, design has evolved into a deliberative art, which is needed for making in all aspects of human activity. Therefore, should our work and personal philosophies be combined to become better problem solvers and future Design managers? The response is much simpler than imagined, and as mentioned by Buchanan plays an essential role in promoting well-being, greater than we could possibly imagine. As a resurfacing school of thought with books such “The subtle art of not giving a F*ck” – Mark Manson, or social media influencers preaching the thought, the question grows as to how Stoicism could influence design. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?
“Fine feather make fine birds.” – English proverb
Sitting all day in classes where design concepts are surgically implanted into our vocabulary can be difficult, particularly when those classes become the next three years of our lives. Reality shifts, and it seems to be driven by design. Small details that were previously overlooked stand out like a stain that needs to be washed or at the very least recognized. For example, on a Saturday afternoon, our attention could change from enjoying the company of friends to using their voices as a radio while observing the surroundings. We may be perplexed as to why so many people still refuse to wear masks while socializing. Everyone, including our group, is doing the same thing. No one seems to mind; the need to socialize and pick and choose who may be sick or not, as a Covid test, sounds more appealing than sitting at home all day, staring at a screen. Our case now needs a solution. In an ideal world, norms and needs combine into a single, reasonable solution. A few moments later, friends are included in the thought process, and a debate erupts as each of them becomes a stakeholder. Everyone has a different need and reasons capable of holding their ground. After a few drinks, we reach an understanding, a compromise that will never see the light of day because it is all based on assumptions.
Reaching this far might be an exaggeration, “ however the subject matter of design is not a given”(Buchanan). These scenarios will facilitate the creation of a solid chain of thought processes for when the demands of a project become more severe. Even though design management students are trained and provided with methodologies and tools for approaching intrinsically challenging problems, there are no systematic procedures that can lead to the best possible solution. “It is created through the activities of invention and planning, or through whatever other methodology or procedures a designer finds helpful in characterizing his or her work.”(Buchanan). It is personal and unique to each Designer.
Not every design management student needs to consider why people don’t wear masks when they meet up with friends, but they analyze the environment differently that their friends. According to Buchanan, design, in all of its forms, empowers individuals to explore and shape the diverse qualities of personal experience and the common qualities of communities. As a result, design becomes a critical component of modern cultural philosophy. This is why, as Design management students and future managers, design can reach so deep into our everyday lives. We explore incessantly, sometimes with no end in sight. Since we, as students, lack personal experience in certain cases, we feel compelled to compensate and research in order to have more choices to consider. There’s a lingering feeling that no matter how much research we do, there’s still one more tab we can add to our browser. However, if choices are equivalent to browser windows, are we all on the verge of crashing our mental operating systems?(Sholars)
“For the greater good.” – Grindelwald, Harry Potter saga antagonist
Is the solution to stop and simply acknowledge the lack of experience? One of HSLU’s – Design Management, International program lecturer used to say “you stop once information gets repetitive” but we as students research in fear of our personal experience and values not being enough. It almost seems like design methodologies and practices are so entrenched in our decision-making approach that we simply minimize our own free will. “The idea of keeping your options open is a way to protect ourselves from the pain and frustration of not being able to make our own choices.”(Sholars). It’s almost as if we’re turning into machines or resources, ignoring our greatest asset: individuality. It is not how much knowledge we have, but how we view the world in which we live that matters. That is essentially what enables us, future Design managers, to better shape the planet.
“The essential humanism of design lies in the fact that human beings determine what the subject matter, processes, and purpose of design shall be. These are not determined by nature, but by our decisions.”(Buchanan)
A reminder for all Design Management students is that “this idea of simple things unfolding into more complex things is the story of life. Any system that’s alive will generate emergent behavior and evolve over time.”(Wing Kosner) In other ways, we learn as we progress in life and our studies. It doesn’t matter if we know all methodologies and processes by heart. What matters is the willingness to learn and get that new experience. What matters is to have the self-awareness to not dive into old patterns and trust one’s judgment. What matters is to close our browser tabs and go for it, “reducing optionality when it comes to your career and passion is mostly about forgiveness and trust- forgiving yourself for committing to one choice and trusting yourself to use that new experience to inform your next one.”(Sholars)
“Design is the art of shaping arguments about the artificial or human-made world… with objective results ultimately judged by individuals, groups, and society.” – Richard Buchana
A good example of all of the above mentioned is that when the research for this blog post first started, the idea was to understand how stoicism could add value to the design principles we apply every day in class and eventually out there in the world. Interesting to discover was that according to Buchanan Design has traces of the schools of thought that dominated the Hellenistic period. One of them being stoicism.
Pigliucci mentions that stoics believed that everything around us operates according to a web of cause and effect, resulting in a rational structure of the universe. And while we may not always have control over the events affecting us, we can have control over how we approach things.
The idea is not to add stoicism as another methodology to be used by Designers while conquering problems but to emphasize Stoicism and use it as the approach for problem-solving. “In life our first job is this, to divide and distinguish things into two categories: externals I cannot control, but the choices I make concerning them I do control. Where will I find good and bad? In me, in my choices.” The fear of having to prove ourselves or rely heavily on research is managed by having “the ability to navigate complex situations in a logical, informed, and calm matter”(Pigliucci), being self-aware of the actions to take even before a problem is presented to us.
How can Design managers create a better world which is human-centered when one is disregarded of the equation? Different from simply applying design principles in live and problem-solving situations, stoicism mindfully reminds the practitioner to start with himself, to look onwards before trying to manage all the other problems. “The idea is that only people who have cultivated virtue and self-control in themselves can bring positive change in others. (Pigliucci)
“We suffer not from the events in our lives, but from our judgment about them.” – Epictetus
If design’s nature has already stoic value that got lost with the definition of Design over time, why not refocus, recenter, using one of the most known schools of thought as the principle that guides Design Management students through their next at least 3years. “On a psychological level, happiness comes from dwelling on the downstream of any given situation as little as possible- which is impossible if you haven’t made a decision.”(Sholars)
by: Kevin Assis Pardal
Sources
Works Cited
Buchanan, Richard. “Rhetoric, Humanism and Design.” Rio de Janeiro State University, João de Souza Leite, www.academia.edu/15847039/Richard_Buchanan_Rhetoric_humanism_and_design.
Epictetus. Discourses and Selected Writings. 2008. Robert Dobbin ed., Penguin Classics, 29 Sept. 2008, www.penguin.com.au/books/discourses-and-selected-writings-9780140449464.
Hemingway, Colette. “Intellectual Pursuit of the Hellenistic Age.” Metmuseum.org, 2021, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ipha/hd_ipha.htm.
Pigliucci, Massimo. “The Philosophy of Stoicism – Massimo Pigliucci.” YouTube, 19 June 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9OCA6UFE-0.
Sholars, Mike. Your Obsession with Optionality Is Holding You Back. 1 Mar. 2021, blog.dropbox.com/topics/work-culture/your-obsession-with-optionality-is-holding-you-back.
Wing Kosner, Anthony. “Of Brains and Bodies – What I Learned on a Two-Year Journey into the Mind at Work.” Blog.dropbox.com, 8 Apr. 2021, blog.dropbox.com/topics/work-culture/the-mind-at-work-of-brains-and-bodies.
The blog post has an eye-catching title. Rethinking values isn’t a result of just any casual conversation, therefore, even without knowing who Stoic is and what will be the blog about, it has already raised my interest.
Then, the first paragraph has satisfied my curiosity, however, it is somewhat confusing. Although it is clear that the topic is about the question “should our work and personal philosophies be combined to become better problem solvers and future Design managers?”, it might be not as clear what the author’s perspective on it is. Following the author’s thought could have been easier if the topic would have been more accurately explained.
The following paragraphs possess high quality of storytelling and explain well how it is to be in a design manager’s shoes. It is rich in quotes and examples and keeps a consistent focus on observing and explaining the behaviors of design management students. I find the paragraph about the reminders for design management students of high value, as it brings positivity and a call for action by properly changing the tone of voice.
On the other hand, the text lacking a comprehensive connection between the various complex topics it raises. This omission indicates that the author might have chosen a topic of high difficulty level without setting an appropriate writing structure. If the author wouldn’t assume that some connections are clear to the reader, he could have added connecting sentences or change the order in which they appear.
claimed by Lital B