The size of the booster rockets on the original space shuttle was determined by the size of the rear end of Roman horses.
From the Blog on design
Designing Consent
Designing consent in an app or system doesn’t really work. Consent is a relational, trust, human activity not a yes/no tick box.
Design is never for the 100%
Nothing is made for everyone. It is impossible. And ‘who’s it for’ is never just a design choice, it is also a business model choice.
Blueprints Don’t Have All the Decisions
Designs and blueprints are made, but there are always, always, countless decisions being made by those coding and building the product or system.
What we see is influenced by what was
Structures frame a place. It is hard to imagine them gone. And even when they do go, it is easy to fall into the trap of being influenced by their ‘ghosts’
Are we listening?
Humanitarian Aid does not need to be done to those affected by a crisis. Yes, it is true that we have multiple ‘customers’, but this not unique to us.
Efficiency, Waste and Sensitive Data
Efficient or wasteful depends on who answers. Being clear on who it is for or who answers the question has implications on how we design our work.
Change should not be a guessing game
In our work with change, we need good design full of subtle indicators of where to step next. Don’t make me guess, build confidence in the user.
The Secret of Whitespace
We can view whitespace as ‘unused’ or we can view it as deliberate, necessary. We tend not to notice it when it is there, but when it is missing we will.