Public service announcement for anyone involved in design, critical thinking, systems thinking, or design thinking… You need to follow DESIGN THINKING! Comic. And not just because it’s funny. Because it’s true.
I’ve referenced their work a lot in recent months, and I worry a little that they’re starting to see me as a scarily incessant fanboy in all their mentions, but I really do believe it’s important work to pay attention to right now.
Perhaps even more so today, with a desperate need for levity and escape. But also in light of all the systems, platforms, and products that have been designed to result in the world we’re currently living in. Because the situation we’re in didn’t happen by accident. We’ve literally designed ourselves into this mess.
We’ve done so by going through the motions of design. Repeating behaviours and rituals that make things look nice, generate engagement, please shareholders, and pacify clients.
Basically we’ve not *really* been thinking about design. It’s been more as if we’re spectating. Following trends and patterns without actually engaging in critical thinking.
That’s what DESIGN THINKING! Comic keeps nudging me to do. It shines a painfully bright light on the toxic and lazy behaviours that the industry has come to accept as the norm, and the way it has to be. And it asks, why?
Satire is a method that helps us engage in issues that are uncomfortable to think about seriously. Like peeking through our fingers at something we don’t want to look at. Allowing us to at least glance at the shocking reality, so that we might begin to process it, before maybe addressing it.
So again, I very seriously encourage you to follow DESIGN THINKING! via whatever means works for you. They’re doing a lot of work to make their work accessible. There’s no excuse not to follow it. And in turn, I hope, fewer excuses for us to ignore the issues it highlights.
designthinkingcomic.substack.com
instagram.com/designthinkingcomic
bsky.app/profile/designthinking.bsky.social
linkedin.com/company/designthinkingcomic
Mathew Wilson – Documenteering 