For most of my working life I have been involved in ‘public good’ work. A lot of it has been in design. But there is no sense of moral superiority pervading either my own work or that of my peers in this work. It is rather a compulsion, a commitment to a particular type of work, a kind of public service.
The inflection this gives our work leads to specific emphases, as you would expect, but sustainability of designs is not one of them. As I’ve mentioned previously, most of our designs deteriorate over time and we have to go back and change them to keep them working at optimum performance levels. The only reason we know they deteriorate is because we take recurrent before and after measurements of performance.
It’s the absence of this type of recurrent measurement in many areas of design that we notice in this climate of forced innovation. That is something we find deeply unsustainable.
BTW, unlike some areas of design where designers are much in demand and make lots of money, our area is not one in which you will make your fortune, ever.
David
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blog: http://communication.org.au/blo <http://communication.org.au/blo>g/
web: http://communication.org.au <http://communication.org.au/>
Professor David Sless BA MSc FRSA
CEO • Communication Research Institute •
• helping people communicate with people •
Mobile: +61 (0)412 356 795
Phone: +61 (03) 9005 5903
Skype: davidsless
60 Park Street • Fitzroy North • Melbourne • Australia • 3068
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