Designing outside the box

Originally Published on LinkedIn: Article Source

I've hung up my "smock" & put away my "paint brush" professionally, I no longer design.

Wow, that's a hard thing to say out loud. But it's true, I don't design anymore aside from my side-hustle which is equal parts art-therapy and gives me a small outlet to still use my creative skills without the pressure of it in a professional setting.

When I became disabled from Ramsay Hunt Syndrome it pushed me over the edge physically from being able to spend 8-10 hrs a day, 5+ days a week with my face buried in Figma, Adobe CS, Canva, Squarespace, Wordpress, Instagram, TikTok and more. I could no longer handle the intensity required of a designer, especially when there are days and weeks when my vision is more impaired, my hearing is on the fritz and my vestibular system is just causing all types of system failures. Systems I rely on as a designer.

So now, I spend a decent amount of my time these days coaching designers, motivating designers and challenging designers.

Recently I conducted a training session for the Sales and Business Development teams at my company, helping to explain the varying roles of designers and how best to engage with them. During that session I pointed out a shared mission, designers fundamentally are motivated by creating experiences that people love. Designers are also driven by opportunities to breakthrough boundaries, create movements and redefine the status quo.

So rather than look at accessibility as something that might limit creativity and out of the box thinking, consider the possibility that accessibility and inclusive design are ways to expand creativity and push way outside the boundaries of the box.

Well, that all seems nice, but what does it mean? Designers, creators and innovators listen up, if you are creating something, start asking yourself some new questions. Challenge yourself to think through alternative senses and how one experiences the creation using senses other than the primary one you rely on by default.

What I mean is something like this:

Let's use an example: A painting - By default you think about what it looks like (when you can see it). But how does your painting feel, maybe you create it with the idea and intent that people can be permitted to touch it.

I think of a great example of this through influencer and creator Molly Burke, when she was designing her home. Molly shared some amazing content around the selections she made for finishes, she really focused on the textures of her selections like tiles, hardware and wall panels. She was able to create an experience where should could enjoy her tiles and their varying textures even if she can not see their color. This video also does a great job of showing how her design team got creative with their process of sharing floor plans with her that were 3D printed or tactile.

Now maybe think about how your painting sounds... Uh What?!?! Well maybe part of your creative process is to not only paint your painting but spend a little time describing it, narrating it. Include with your painting a descriptive text, maybe think about ambient sounds that could accompany your painting.

So with this example I just challenged you to think about how the painting feels and how it sounds. I asked you to consider alternative senses and how that might be additive to how someone experiences and enjoys your design. Oh hey immersive design, I see you gurl...

You see, when you think about alternative senses and how people experience things using different sense and abilities you also create a more immersive design for those experiencing it with all sense and abilities. Win, Win - Heck yeah! At no point did this challenge limit your creativity or hold you back from creating something magical, in fact I would argue that by including this into your process you have created something better for everyone.

So the next time you are designing or creating something, ask yourself... How might someone experience this differently and how can I include ways to make this an experience for everyone to be able to enjoy?

How does your interior design smell, how might you use scent to evoke what you want the experience to be? What does your song feel like, think about haptics and vibration of music and sounds? How does your painting sound, how do you describe your painting and the story it tells?

Now take that same idea and think about more day to day business, think about how someone might experience your creation. Now don't rely on the primary or default senses or abilities to experience it. Think about the abilities you are relying on for someone to successfully navigate your creation and think about how you might be able to include elements or aspects of that experience to make it more doable or enjoyable for someone without access to that ability.

This is a great opportunity to think outside the box and create with a greater set of requirements. It may be hard at times, but so is minimal design. It just takes practice, patience and most of all... creativity.