This week, the sources we looked at were fairly broad. I drew the most inspiration from Frank Chimeros’ book. In chapter 10 he talks a lot about designs as a form of gift. The idea of drawing inspiration from others is like receiving free gifts, no physical object changes hands, but both parties can benefit. Ultimately he argued that giving a gift is only as powerful as the user’s experience with the gift. Of course that is true for design as well. The best designs are things that delight the customer by doing something easily for them that they could have probably done themselves but with more hassle and effort. The rest of the sources showed that not only will thinking in a design state of mind lead to better ideas when you know the formula, but it will also boost your companies profit and overall wellbeing.
