Design@SAIF - Issue #19

An eclectic collection for the long Indian independence day weekend. Given the long weekend I have been tempted to add a dozen of my favourite reads, but finally settled on half of that: thoughts on career transitions, empathy, designers as collectors and videos of the future. And as a designer who loves reading (and a bit of writing & speaking)—notes on writing for speaking. Cryptic? Read on...

Reading through this, I could see so many similarities with career paths in Design, so much so that at many places I could easily imagine the word Product Management being replaced by Design. Both are continually changing as are the organisation's expectations and the individual's responses to these disciplines and their practice.

“The science of careers and product management is still evolving" says Hunter—the individual dilemmas, choices and questions continue to evolve too. A reflective piece of writing from someone who has tread the path before...

"Tips don’t replace courtesy, but it’s a gesture that can make someone’s day".

A call for empathy and understanding—for the thousands of real human beings quietly powering India's brave new App-ecosystem and rising service expectations. Real people with little educational (or other) advantages who dodge everyday trying challenges—and some of it, may be us.

I recommend watching these two videos on your Mobile before jumping onto the link and Ben's thoughts—

The first, a "music video that makes the concept of 'mobile first' pretty much meaningless". The second paradoxically is about restoring objects "which phones swallowed - physical objects, with cameras, radios, music players and so on" and then "turned into apps". Albeit we are talking virtual restoration. Makes no sense unless you watch the videos first.

Designers are a quirky, different tribe. Fastcodesign believes they "also tend to live minimally." That got the editorial team wondering: "when designers do cave in to their basest impulses and start hoarding, what do they collect, and why?" An interesting, visual read...

Ever wondered about "rhetorical devices such as parallelism or emphatic word order"? Here are some great writing lessons for making an impact with the spoken word, with The First Lady's DNC address as an inspiring example.

Until next week,@JDallcaps @SAIFpartners