In this new series, I explore designer, educator, and researcher Danah Abdulla’s prompts from her book "Designerly ways of knowing: a working inventory of things a designer should know." which challenge us to expand our knowledge and strengthen our commitment to making the world a better place through design.

#34. Design's Unintended Consequences

“Designing is fundamental to being human - we design, deliberate, plan and scheme in ways which prefigure our actions and makings - we design our world, while our world acts back on us and designs us.”_

- Anne-Marie Willis, professor and editor of Design Philosophy Papers

Uber promised freedom of movement, but contributed to traffic congestion.

Instagram connected people creatively, but also enabled cyberbullying.

Facebook’s algorithms optimized for engagement, but fueled misinformation.

The designs we create are not innocent.

The designs we create have unintended consequences that can do real damage and even turn deadly in the case of cyberbullying.

Even the small design decisions we make, like using Western-only names or relying on stock imagery of stereotypical perfection, can unintentionally mislead, exclude, or harm.

It's not a question of skill or money, because companies like Uber, Instagram, and Facebook have the best designers and researchers in the industry and the largest budgets.

What could cause the unintended consequences in our designs?

We can think of this problem in three layers.

The first is systematic pressures within a growth-at-all-costs modus operandi. As journalist Om Malik puts it, “It’s hard to think about the human consequences of technology as a founder of a startup racing to prove itself or as a chief executive who is worried about achieving the incessant growth that keeps investors happy.”

The second is process flaws, where we design for the "happy path" and ignore the ways our designs break and cause issues because we didn't spend the time to explore the "not-so-happy paths".

The third layer is human psychology, which deals with our inherent cognitive biases. Cognitive biases are the mental shortcuts our minds take based on past experiences, which can distort our perception of the present moment, leading to inaccurate judgments and flawed decision-making. If we dig a bit deeper into the way we design, we see that our human psychology also plays a role in these scenarios.

Here are a few of the cognitive biases that affect how we design:

• Optimism bias - thinking our own risks are less risky than other people's.

• Confirmation bias - We selectively interpret data to show our designs have a positive impact, while ignoring the data that tells a different story.

• Groupthink - We don't want to be the person on the team who rocks the boat, so we fail to speak up and challenge questionable assumptions.

• Framing bias - How we frame a problem, either positively or negatively, influences our perceptions and decision-making

Here is a good explanation for unconscious biases:

What can designers do when even the best laid plans go awry?

By taking a holistic approach to our design, we can start with a wide lens and narrow down to the smaller details.

Here are a few recommendations:

Commit to ethics early

By establishing and committing to ethical principles early in the design process, you can set the stage for awareness of situations as they arise around fairness, transparency, inclusivity, privacy, and sustainability.

Tools to use:

• Prioritising Ethical design

• Unpack Ethical Design Toolkits

Think in systems, not artifacts

What happens when our designs are used over time, at scale, and in different, not-so-perfect contexts?

Tools to use:

• Scenario mapping

• Causal loop diagrams

• Journey/Impact maps

Widen your perspective

By working with team members, customers, and community members with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences, we can prevent working with blind spots.

Tools to use:

• Expand your worldview

• Unlearn old and unhelpful ideas and practices

• Challenge your assumptions

• Question established norms

• Collaborate with diverse teams and team members

Design for edge cases

Ask yourself how my design could be misused? Or are there any dark patterns within my design?

Tools to use:

• User story mapping

• Usability testing with primary and secondary customer groups to consider the wider impact

• Create Antipersonas - design with a user group that could misuse your product in a way you never intended.

• Continuously iterate, test, and refine, even after launching.

By bringing awareness, humility, and curiosity, we designers can help prevent the unintended negative consequences of our designs so the most good can be done for the most people possible.

Reflection Prompt

💬 What can you do to expand your knowledge of identities and life experiences that are different from your own?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

Mindful, by design.

The Mindful Designer is a space to pause, reflect, and explore the ideas that shape how we design and how design shapes us.

In this new series, I explore designer, educator, and researcher Danah Abdulla’s prompts from her book "Designerly ways of knowing: a working inventory of things a designer should know." which challenge us to expand our knowledge and strengthen our commitment to making the world a better place through design.

#47. The Politics Of Design

“Much, if not most, graphic design is about communicating messages, and many of these messages are intended to persuade. This places its practice clearly in the realm of politics.” - Michael Bierut

Design is political.

Design is a way to shape how humans live, behave, and communicate, for better or for worse, which makes design a political activity.

The political nature of design is evident in key parts of the design process itself. From who we include or exclude to be on our design teams, in our research and testing, and who we market our products to, all point to the political nature of design.

Why is design political?

• Carries a bias and an agenda towards achieving a goal

• Reflects specific ideological viewpoints

• Shapes social norms and influences how we behave and perceive things

• Guides how problems and solutions are presented

As Ruben Pater reminds us in The Politics of Design:

At the root of miscommunication lies the assumption that people will understand us because we use ‘universal’ or ‘objective’ communication. Assumptions of objectivity and universality in design are closely tied to the modernist design principles as they are taught in Western design education.”

Our Responsibilities as Designers

Knowing all this, what are the responsibilities for us as designers?

It means we must:

• Question and acknowledge our privilege

• Ask ourselves, “Who is being excluded from this conversation?” so we can understand the real impact of our designs

• We can create space for underrepresented and marginalized voices to be heard

• Challenge the status quo by bringing diversity into the names, images, and photos of real people we use in our design process

Design is never neutral. The question is what values, perspectives, and futures will our work stand for?

Reflection Prompt

💬 When you think about a recent project, what choices do you see now that reveal design is never neutral?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

Mindful, by design.

The Mindful Designer is a space to pause, reflect, and explore the ideas that shape how we design and how design shapes us.

Too often, design gets reduced to workshops, templates, and checklists, losing its depth as a way of knowing and imagining. If you take away the post-its and the markers, can designers think?

Design thinking has left many designers caught in the middle, either seen as overly theoretical or reduced to sticky-note problem solvers. Danah Abdulla, on Substack, challenges us to push past the buzzwords and clichés to reclaim design as a way of knowing, imagining, and shaping better futures for all.

In a search for a deeper understanding and to prompt critical thinking, I'm starting a new series that explores the thought-provoking guidebook by Danah Abdulla titled "Designerly ways of knowing: a working inventory of things a designer should know."

Inspired by the advice of Antonio Gramsci that knowing thyself begins with making an inventory and Michael Sorkin’s beloved list "Two Hundred and Fifty Things an Architect Should Know.", Danah's book offers a collection of topics to help broaden our understanding and deepen our knowledge of the world in which we operate.

As designers, we must constantly challenge our assumptions about what us good design. We must draw our knowledge from a diverse set of aesthetic philosophies, materials, and techniques, which can unlock new ideas and approaches.

In each issue, I will introduce one topic from the book to whet your appetite and spark further exploration.

A few topics from the book:

• #16 Explaining the why behind the what

• #17 Sewing

• #33 The History of Palestine

• #47 The Politics of Design

• #58 That there is no magic to design

• #70 How to say no

• #202 The racism of machines

As you can see, these prompts can take us out of our comfort zones. They challenge us to think critically, confront long-held beliefs, and see the world more clearly.

Along the way, I’ll share topics I would like to add to the list and invite you to share your recommendations as well.

The Journey Begins

This marks the beginning of a journey to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves, enabling us to design with greater inclusivity, imagination, and humanity.

👉🏽 I invite you to join me on this journey by following along and sharing your thoughts and experiences.

💬 Reflection Prompt

What’s one topic, big or small, you think all designers should know more about?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

Mindful, by design.

The Mindful Designer is a space to pause, reflect, and explore the ideas that shape how we design and how design shapes us.

There are no boundaries between the different parts of our lives.

The principles, habits, mindsets, and behaviors we apply in one part of our lives can significantly shape how we approach and navigate other parts of our lives. No matter how big or small the challenge, we are the same person showing up. We may be showing a different side of ourselves in a situation but underneath it all we are the same person at work as we are at home with our family, when we commit to becoming healthy, or when we are learning a new skill, how we do anything is how we do everything.

Each time I go running I'm reminded that how I approach my running will help me in my design practice and as a designer, when I work with intention, care, and focus on my design projects, it will benefit me during my running as well. I use running and design work as an example but it could just as easily be running and cooking, or cleaning and play, or parenting and exercising, anything and everything.

Today I want to share with you a few mindsets that show up when running that can help you in your mindful design practice:

Embrace each moment

When climbing up a steep hill it's easy to focus on the struggle. When working on a design project it's easy to focus on what is going wrong. The steep hills, that mountain in front of you that you just don't want to climb, the ice-cold stream you need to cross which will get your feet wet and make you uncomfortable, the beautiful sweeping views, the fallen tree you need to climb over, the doubt and uncertainty, the delays, the deadlines, the good and the bad are all part of the experience of each moment. Each moment is a learning opportunity to make the best of whatever situation you're in.

One step at a time

When you're tired and each step feels heavy and painful, you can remember that one step at a time will get you past that massive mountain. Don't minimize the power of small steps. One small action you can take in your project, one email, one conversation, one task, and one small step makes a big difference in how you progress toward your goals.

The journey is the reward

There is more to finishing a run or a design project. Paying attention to the sights, the sounds, our wins, the times we fall down, the fresh air, the conversations, the struggles, getting to know the people we run and work with. Bringing awareness to our journey helps us see that everything and everyone we experience along the way can be a catalyst for positive change in our lives.

This too shall pass

There will be bad days, pain, cramps, bad results, bad experiences, pivots, and wasted effort, but as the saying goes on the trails, "What goes up must come down and what goes down must come up". Nothing is permanent and challenging times will pass. So take care of yourself and do what you need to do to make it through the tough parts while savoring the good parts knowing this too shall pass.

Pace yourself

Starting fast, working overtime, not taking breaks, not fueling your body properly, and pushing through the signals that your body and mind need rest, are a surefire way to bonking, hitting the wall, and burning out. You're in the game for the long haul so keep your focus a few steps ahead on the task at hand and do it to the best of your abilities knowing the full length of the journey or the project so you can finish strong.

Help others with a smile

Too often we get so obsessed with our end goal or things that are going wrong for us that we forget to enjoy the path we are on. By smiling we are reminding ourselves and others to enjoy the moment. Reminding ourselves that we get to run, we get to work, and we get to be alive. Yes, it may not be fun all the time but having a smile is infectious and for a brief moment it can take us out of our worrying mind to enjoy a moment and help others do the same.

These are just a few of the mindsets that show up while running that we can apply in our design practice or any other part of our lives because how we do anything is how we do everything.

What's a mindset you would add to this list? I would love to know, let me know in the comments.

May curiosity be your guide ✊🏽

I'm in a design meeting at work where my thoughts take me to other companies where

things would be organized,

things would be easy,

things would be figured out,

I would be liked more,

I would have better pay,

I would have more creative freedom,

better hours,

better benefits,

better team,

better everything.

I start to worry about the design decisions and all the mistakes I have ever made.

I start to worry about my job and what would happen if I lost it.

I start to worry about how I would pay my bills and support my family.

I’m not smart enough!

I’m not educated enough!

I’m not fit enough!

My thoughts wander.

My thoughts get darker.

My thoughts run away.

But I snap out of it…

I snap out of the day dreaming,

the second guessing,

the ruminating,

to get back to this moment,

in my body,

in this meeting,

in the present moment,

with all the wonderful possibilities,

with all the imperfection,

with everything just as it is.

I breath deeply and appreciate

the work I do,

the people besides me,

the moment in front of me, just as it is.

I choose this moment in front of me, just as it is!

I choose this moment in front of me!

I choose this moment!

I choose this!

✊🏽

There have been many moments in my life where I have let fear drive my behavior. Whether it was social anxiety or impostor syndrome that kept me locked in my negative thought patterns and from doing what I wanted to be doing.

A few examples of this are:

• not sharing my idea in a meeting because I was worried about how it would be received by others so I kept quiet and regretted it later.

• not applying for a job because I didn't think I was qualified, although looking back the job was a great fit.

• not going to company parties because meeting new people felt awkward and intimidating

One day I decided enough was enough and I was going to speak up and share my idea in a meeting.

As soon as I wanted to share my idea I felt nervous and my physical reactions followed with my face getting red and my palms becoming sweaty.

Once I spoke up and shared my idea during the meeting I realized that lo and behold, the sky didn't fall down as I thought it would. Instead, the conversation continued and instead of feeling regret for not speaking up I felt a sense of relief for not having allowed my emotions to keep me quiet and withdrawn.

It took one experience to help me realize that instead of letting my emotions drive my behavior I could in fact do the opposite of what my emotions were telling me. As long as the action was aligned with my values, the outcome I believe would be better for myself.

A change in approach

Our emotions are valid, but sometimes, they don't fit the facts of the situation and keep us in our well-worn grooves of how we respond, which keeps us from accomplishing what matters most to us.

Instead of defaulting to our old ways of dealing with negative emotions such as anxiety, shame, anger, or sadness, we have another option available, and that is to do the opposite of what our feelings are telling us.

Instead of withdrawing when we feel anxious, we can do the opposite, be open to the situation, and approach it as a learning opportunity.

Instead of hiding ourselves when we feel shame, we do the opposite and speak up, maintain eye contact, and lean into the situation.

We always have a choice in each moment, we can either keep doing the same things over and over again to momentarily help us feel better or we can be mindful and act in a healthier way that aligns with our values and how we want to show up in life by doing the opposite.

Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more so that we may fear less.
– Marie Curie

Let's choose to do the opposite!

✊🏽

If you ask 100 people what the phrase "the mindful designer" means to them, you will probably get 100 different answers.

Why is that?

Because we all experience life differently.

We each have unique experiences, knowledge, and understanding, so a word like mindfulness can mean different things to different people.

There is also the metaphor "the map is not the territory", which means our mental models, representations, or interpretations of ideas are not the complex, ever-changing reality of the things they aim to describe.

So keeping that in mind, as we're getting started and preparing for our journey it will be good for me to define what I mean by the phrase "The Mindful Designer".

Defining “The Mindful Designer”

For me, the mindful designer is a creative practitioner on the path to a deep and meaningful connection with themselves and the world around them. They show up in each moment with presence, compassion, and curiosity to unlock their full creative potential.

The mindful designer is on a journey to live a life of introspection, open-mindedness, and intentionality as they strive to be a better designer, team member, and collaborator.

The mindful designer focuses on their inner world to live a more examined, compassionate, and intentional life.

For the mindful designer, life is their greatest teacher.

The mindful designer understands that each moment, whether good or challenging, brings opportunities to learn from so they show up with an eagerness for growth.

The mindful designer knows they are on a journey with no destination. For them, the experiences they will collect along the way are enough.

The process is the reward.

Each of us emerges as a result of our experiences from moment to moment, so leading a life of deep reflection will help guide us on our journey to becoming mindful designers.

The mindful designer is constantly evolving so the definition I share in this post is not the complete picture and that's the exciting part because we can iterate our way to becoming a mindful designer.

I hope you have a better understanding of what I mean by the phrase "the mindful designer".

What does the phrase mean to you?

I welcome you to share what comes to mind when you hear the phrase "the mindful designer" to understand your perspective on this phrase.

Let me know in the comments if this resonates with you and what the phrase means to you.

As we embark on this journey, may our hearts be light, our spirits high, and our experiences extraordinary.

Bon Voyage!

👋🏽 Hi there! I'm starting a new series called The Mindful Designer, in which I explore embodying mindful wisdom as a designer to help us not just survive but thrive at work and in life. 

You're invited to embark on this transformational journey with me to bring your best to the world and live your full creative potential.

Not your jam? No worries. You can opt out of The Mindful Designer series by selecting "Unsubscribe" in the footer of this email and clicking on "Turn off emails" next to this or other sections you'd like to unsubscribe from. HONY SOYT QUI MAL PENCE <-- inspired by Robin Sloan.

As designers, our creative work fills us with deep satisfaction and joy. We get to express ourselves creatively and collaborate with people to bring our ideas to life that positively impact people’s lives and help shape the world around us.

But many of us don't get a taste of this joy in our daily work as designers.

For many, work is synonymous with struggle, fear, doubt, lack of confidence, and the dreaded impostor syndrome. Each day we are at the edge of our seats wondering what will go wrong. Our outlook becomes gloomy and we wonder if we are even cut out to be designers.

We fall into a cycle of overthinking and start to believe that our negative thoughts are real. Each limiting belief we carry keeps us down and far away from the goals we want to achieve. Day in and day out, we struggle through work and believe this is all there is for us and this is all we could be.

We see others going through their days with ease and even having fun while working, and wonder, why not me?

We see others leaning in and sharing their ideas freely, and wonder, why not me?

We see others being successful and wonder, why not me?

Well, I was that designer who was struggling, overthinking, and doubting his abilities and wondered if success was for others and not for himself.

That was a challenging time in my career because

• I lacked confidence in my ideas and abilities as a designer

• I blamed everyone else and the world for my problems

• I felt like an impostor each time I got up to speak

• I lacked self-awareness and never took the time to understand myself better

• I was frustrated and felt I was stagnating in my career

I think you get the point; I was down and out.

But then a shift happened.

As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of all inventions, I searched for a way out of my predicament and learned that I had the power to change the direction of my life so I started on my journey to become a designer who was better equipped to deal with the daily challenges and obstacles I faced.

So, I started my journey to become a mindful designer.

I read books on mindfulness, creativity, cognitive psychology, and mindsets to understand my mind and to learn the tools and techniques I could use each day to live a better life.

I worked with a coach who helped me see the limiting beliefs I was carrying around which helped me break free from the unhelpful mindsets that kept me stuck.

I learned about the wisdom from spiritual philosophies of Zen, Buddhism, Stoicism, and others to help me change my perspective on living a good life and to dive into mindfulness and meditation.

I spent time bringing awareness to my inner world to better understand my values, my goals, my thought patterns, my inhibitions, my fears, my doubts, and what made me me.

As a result, I have a new outlook on work and life, which has empowered me to show up and lean in at work so I can be the designer and person I knew I could be.

If the struggles I mentioned sound familiar to you, I want you to know there is a way out so you can make the best of this one precious life that you have.

You don’t need to be defined by your situation.

You have agency over your career and life!

You have amazing creative potential!

and most of all, you are limitless!

As a manager once told me when she saw that I was not living up to my potential, “Unleash yourself!”

I invite you to join me on this journey to break free from the inner struggles and the limiting beliefs that hold you down so you can be your best at work and in life and achieve your creative potential.

Let’s start this journey to become a mindful designer.

- Rizwan ✊🏽

The mind is everything!