Thinking About Thinking

Posted January 21, 2012. Photo: (on Flickr)

“Improved design process, not a perfectly realized building, is the most valuable thing you gain from one design studio and take with you to the next.”

- Matthew Frederick from his amazing book 101 Things I learned in Architecture School.

Of course, this quote is a bit narrow in its semantics; referring to architecture students, but change a few words and it becomes relevant for anyone engaged in the process of creating something.

Making things is hard. Frederick talks about how architects don’t really reach their stride until in their 50’s. That’s amazing, especially when you try to relate it to younger fields: web design, user experience, etc. I mean, it’s mind boggling to think about. I feel like I know so much about my craft, and yet have so much left to learn. And yet, at the same time, we’re still blazing new trails, experimenting and laying down the rails and driving in the first spikes. We’re a long way from the “last spike”, if even such a thing exists, which it probably doesn’t.

I would agree with Frederick that improved design process is key to growing as a designer. It’s something I constantly think about and it’s something I’ve had to be involved with on just about every project I’ve worked on.

In fact I’ve spent a good chunk of my time the last couple weeks trying to help roll out a revised process for product development at my job. It’s been a grueling and stressful ride. Everyone knows we need to improve. One of our lead engineers remarked after I said that our internal survey showed that everyone in the company would like to see an improved process, “well, no shit, who wouldn’t want an improved process.”

Of course he’s right. But wanting an improved process and actually wanting to work on that (or having time, etc.) are two different things. I couldn’t help but feel a bit like Sisyphus as we went through it; trying to push a big old boulder up the side of a mountain. It’s hard work and despite a ton of existing advice, resources, and tools, it often feels like we’re inventing something from scratch.

I say “feels like” because that’s not exactly the truth of it. There is a lot of good stuff out there you can learn from and despite the relative youth of our medium and industry, if you look outside, say to architecture or manufacturing¹ is applicable. It’s just tricky trying to figure out what to use, how to put it in place and then making sure all the people involved are onboard and that it works for them.
It’s no mean feat. Working within a team of folks who have significant differences in how they think, vastly different levels of responsibility, different job functions, different problems, etc can be very rewarding, but it has its challenges. For sure. Adapting to a set process might not make sense for everyone in every situation. In a way it’s an unsolvable problem.

Having said that, I feel like the simple act of trying to improve is valuable in and of itself. This applies to just about everything in life. As a designer I’m constantly thinking about my process, looking for ways I can do things smarter, quicker and better. I apply the same methodology to my personal life, my job… pretty much everything. I do a lot of thinking about thinking.

Here is another great lesson from Matthew Frederick’s amazing book:

“The most effective, most creative problem solvers engage in a process of meta-thinking, or ‘thinking about the thinking.’”

Yes! When I first read that I literally shouted out-loud, much to the chagrin of my poor cat.

If there is one thing I could teach people who are interested in a career in design it wouldn’t have anything to do with tools or technique. It’s about thinking. When presented with any problem, take the time to think about your own thinking. Examine your initial thoughts, explore the hows and why’s of your own thought process. Do this often. You’ll be amazed at what you learn and the opportunities that will present themselves to you.

The other day my friend Willo tweeted a quote from an interesting article on networking: “We get skeptical of things we can’t immediately grasp.” It’s taken a bit out of context but it got me thinking, specifically about process, communication and the ways in which designers approach problems. It’s totally true, and something that everyone should work on. Why is it that the new and unfamiliar puts us off so much? Even those of us blazing the trails of a young industry feel this and often have trouble getting beyond it. I’m not sure why that is, but I do think we can do something about it. I think we need to do something about it. We need to question our own thinking constantly, just as we continue to challenge and learn from the thinking of others.

We need to think about our thinking and in so doing we’ll keep inching to that next, last spike so that others that are following (and ourselves when we need reminders) can keep benefiting from what we’ve learned. There is another valuable step to all of this thinking on thinking stuff, and that’s sharing.

To that end I’m not only going to keep on thinking about thinking, but also try and record and publish what I’ve learned in a variety of forms. I still write a whole lot, but it’s rare that I share anymore. I’m really hoping to change that and I hope someone out there will benefit from the sharing. :)

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