Design Everywhere

Complexity is all around us. From our social systems to the products and services we create, complexity lurks beneath what might seem to be the most simple solutions. If we ignore it, the consequences might haunt us long into the future in ways we didn't foresee. But if we approach complexity more systematically, we can better understand the potential impact of design decisions further up- and downstream. In the second in our two-part conversation with Erik Dahl, we'll discuss how modeling can help us make sense of complexity so that we can better understand the constraints and opportunities in anything we have a hand in designing.

As a designers, how do we define and approach practice? Athletes practice before a competition and musicians practice before a performance. Do we, as designers, live by those same standards? In this episode, Erik Dahl, a seasoned UX consultant, educator at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, co-founder of the Midwest UX conference, and ultramarathoner, dives deeply into the philosophy and execution of practice.

In part two of our discussion with Karl Fast, we take a deep dive into how our bodies and physical surroundings are used as tools and actors in the process of cognition and understanding - that understanding is not something that solely happens in the mind but is inextricably linked to artifacts of our surroundings. Karl Fast is a former professor of User Experience Design and Information Architecture, an Information Futurist, and the co-author of the book, Figure It Out: Getting from Information to Understanding.

Join host Jonathan Morgan with some of the leading voices in the industry as we explore what it means to be a designer in this highly disruptive time. Each week, we get an insider’s look into the strategies, tactics, philosophies, and techniques of designer’s as they creatively face some of their biggest challenges. We explore the common thread in everything from designing ethical artificial intelligence to concert posters to collaborative communities.