I stumbled upon a blog this morning called The Casual Optimist, which reminded me of the old Militant Optimist rallying cry of FutureGov, which always makes me think of one of my favourite design books, titled Perverse Optimist.

In turn, this little cascade has nudged my aim to be a Pragmatic Optimist, that is, someone that truly believes we can do better than we’re currently doing in design – despite 20+ years of witnessing the same repetitive barriers and challenges to substantive and positive improvement.

Funny to notice how we modify optimism in so many ways. As though it’s too incomplete and naive as an unmodified concept on its own.

Update, 5 June 2024:

Mindless Optimism (via my post on POSIWID). I think this is what I mean by unmodified ‘optimism’ on its own being incomplete and naive. Inactive, inoffensive, or blasé optimism that feels a little too wishful. Optimistic optimism! Or maybe naive optimism? I know this is a modifier that people also use, but for me, it’s too close to the idea of naive realism, pointing to issues that are wound up with subjectivity and navel-gazing.

Update, 16 August 2024:

Cynical optimism as discussed with Matt, and as he explains here.

… someone who has some battle scars and lived through some broken promises but despite everything once again finds themselves excited with the possibility of change and progress. Just with a little less energy and a lot more sarcasm than previous adventures. It feels like the most English version of optimism possible.

Close to pragmatic optimism in my interpretation.

Update, 9 January 2025:

Urgent Optimism and Urgent Optimists.

Urgent optimism is a highly motivating and resilient mindset that combines foresight with creativity. It’s made up of three key psychological strengths, which we can measure and improve together.

Update, 29 July, 2025:

From Why Designers Sound Negative (And Why That’s A Good Thing) by Andy Budd.

… once again, the designer is labelled “negative.” But what’s really going on here isn’t pessimism for pessimism’s sake. It’s a cognitive strategy known as defensive pessimism.

… Unfortunately, this kind of caution often clashes with the dominant culture of modern product organisations: strategic optimism. Confident people tend to sound more persuasive. Optimistic plans sound more ambitious. And ambitious plans get rewarded.

Again, for me this feels closer to pragmatic optimism. But perhaps this is more about others perceive the attitude of designers, rather than how they feel inside themselves.

And I like how Andy pairs it with the idea of ‘defensive pessimism’, which tallies with a separate ‘modified pessimism’ list I’ve been collating.

It also reminded me of what Elizabeth Goodspeed wrote earlier this year, on why graphic designers can’t stop joking about hating their jobs.

The line between optimism and pessimism is increasingly blurred; designers are ironic about being sincere, sincere about being ironic, suspicious of optimism, but also wary of coming off as too cynical (or, sad). What’s being performed, more than anything, is ambivalence: the most protective emotional position in a profession that demands passion but punishes vulnerability. When the stakes are this personal, forced indifference can feel like the only safe response.

Update, 10 September 2025:

Tragic Optimism has finally resonated with my consciousness via this brilliant Guide to Surviving Capitalistic Nihilism video essay, which feels uncharacteristically helpful of the YouTube algorithm to have surfaced.

It was coined by Viktor Frankl, and featured in Man’s Search for Meaning, which I’ve read, but somehow this precise term hasn’t been more available in my mind since I started collecting these modifiers.

I feel there are notes of tragic optimism in Taoism and Stoicism, however, I think it’s about being more active than the slightly passive and peace making natures of those two philosophies. More about recognising the many tragic realities of living, but then fighting to find hope and meaning in life at the same time, rather than just accepting or enduring.