RESEARCHER. DESIGNER. STRATEGIST. CHANGE AGENT.

When I was growing up, I wanted to be a writer. I thought that was the only “design” I had any talent for. As an adult, I heard the tenet that “everyone is a designer,” but to be honest, I didn’t really believe it. As I’ve gotten older however, the problems in the world and the challenges in business have made me realize that I can’t stand on the sidelines. They have weighed on me, motivated me. So, immersing myself in design principles and methods, creative research techniques, and some mad scientist strategy, I’ve tried to be a part of the solution.

This section is called About Me, and I believe you can learn a lot about people by what frustrates them and motivates them.  So here’s my take; hope it helps you understand what makes me tick!

WHAT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT:

The fact that our education system teaches kids to remember facts and not to think and create solutions.

That big businesses generally get in the way of themselves and are unable to innovate.

The orphan problem here and abroad. 

The fact that there’s enough water and food for everyone, but we don’t like to share.

That we’ve lost our sense of community. Sunday night dinners with friends on the porch could do a lot to change the world – laughing, crying, the kids doing their shenanigans, we need to bring community back.

WHAT KEEPS ME DRIVEN:

Empathy. To me, it means making other people’s problems my own. I want to really feel people’s pain, so I can help create solutions.

As a researcher, we talk a lot about interviewing people.  I don’t want to interview people.  I want to meet people, to know them.

Encourage "play." Complex problems are more likely to be solved when we’re not thinking about the weight of solving them. So encourage purposeful fun and games.

Design is never done. There’s always better. The challenge is: can we find it?

There is never failure, only feedback. Thoughtful criticism is the key to good design and strategy.

Ideation sessions generally blow. To have any chance of success, we have to do our homework, and we must work with a multi-disciplined group that plays nicely together. 

Indeed, “everyone is designer.” Because we are designed for it, and moreover, the world is calling for it.

Manoj Alipuria