Combination Research Lab and Studio

This post is in some ways a part two of What Meaning Means to Me, and part of a series on raison d’etre.

My career goal is this: be an independent designer of digital experiences and tools.

My approach is a combination of various design and product development approaches. My approach is thoughtful, considered, long term and systematic.

Go down to a low level, design basic patterns, formats, protocols, standards. These are the building blocks. Then build with these blocks.

I slowly, over time build up a collection of blocks. One side of my work is experimentation and research, developing blocks. The other side is designing specific projects using the blocks.

My inspirations include:

• XXIIVV by Devine of 100r.co (especially their data formats and uxn)
• Ink and Switch
• A Pattern Language (the book and the general approach it spawned)
• Tom Sachs (especially the rough but rigorous and standardised approach to studio)

Currently I’m building skills on the design side, especially designing systems with end goals in mind. (This can be expressed as “product development”, however I am not a fan of the overt commercial tone of the term.)

Going forward I will need to build more skills on the execution side, building prototypes and finished products. For this, I will take a similar approach and, over time, build up a toolkit of technologies, visual elements, software and other building blocks I can combine reliably.