Quotes

  • Only that you’re ignorant of what that entails

    Well, let’s face it. These laws that you say, hidden laws, they are hidden. But they’re only hidden by our own ignorance. And the word “mysticism” is just being arrived at through people’s ignorance. There’s nothing mystical about it, only that you’re ignorant of what that entails. George Harrison

  • And yet design and designers

    And yet design and designers. I’m a designer, and what I’ve seen is that we are perpetually distressed, perpetually feel threatened by the idea of democratization. As long as I’ve been a designer there’s been talk about the idea of accreditation, about the idea of licensing designers, about making people take training, take tests in…

  • Are we doing the right thing?

    In their writing, they reflect on their own work, and they’re skeptical about what they’re doing often times. They’re also very skeptical and question the world around them. And that’s something that I think that we can do a lot more as designers, and I know it is not an easy thing to do, because…

  • There Are No Little Things

    Sometimes, when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things—a chance word, a tap on the shoulder, or a penny dropped on a newsstand—I am tempted to think there are no little things. Bruce Barton

  • Organizations need guideposts. They need an outline; employees need to know each day when they wake up why they’re going to work. This outline should be short and sweet, and all encompassing: Why do you exist? What motivates you? I call this a mantra — a three or four-word description of why you exist. Guy…

  • We’re in a simulation right now

    I mean, there’s a strong argument we’re in a simulation right now. It also reminds you of that joke, if life was a video game, what would be the review? It’s like, well, the graphics are incredible, the plot is confusing, and the respawn takes a long time. That’s a video game. That’s life. It…

  • Rebelling Against Using the Intranet

    Ignoring or rebelling against using the intranet are learned behaviors that were reinforced by repeated poor experiences and infectious word of mouth between colleagues.  (Learned helplessness is a well-documented phenomenon: once somebody has been beaten down enough times, she gives up trying. That’s partly why we recommend against launching a bad UX, even with a…

  • The Person I’ve Been with the Longest

    Secondly, the person I’ve been with the longest — 50 years at this point — is my wife. We get along really fine, but we often don’t understand each other that well. We often laugh about how she tells me something and I hear and understand it, but later on, it turns out that what…

  • Sometimes You Forgo the Data

    Sometimes you forgo the data, and make a gut call due to the nature of the problem and the macro goal you’d like to reach. And believe me, though it sounds like a ludicrous situation, time-sensitive problems crop up all the time in product development! Chris Lee

  • You Are Part of a Professional Community

    You are part of a professional community, and the way you do your job and handle yourself professionally affects everyone in that community. Just as a rising tide affects all boats, taking a shit in the pool affects all swimmers…If a designer leaves a job because they were being asked to behave against their ethical…