EQ meeting IQ
Drain the brain or train the brain?
By Carina Oskarsson, Strategic Designer, Information Rosenbad, Government of Sweden
 |
 |
Carina Oskarsson
|
There are many schools of thought about how people communicate with each other. The politics of a work environment are largely about words, and for a designer it can be tough: ‘pinball-game brain’ and ‘elevator-shaft emotions.’ The difference between language and sight1 is a challenge for “exformation2.”
Even though we are seeing a paradigm shift in the world and change is knocking on our doors, everyone also has a need to feel secure. As a design thinker you may want to turn the world upside down to achieve radical and innovative solutions, which can cause insecurity. The brain needs two things; thinking the old way3—and thinking the new way!
The chain of communication for practical work
One of my roles as a designer is to touch people, simplify relations, and create valuable memories. It can be interesting to work with people who are primarily text-based. A key to effectiveness is to seek to have the same mental ground as those I cooperate with. We cannot communicate through visuals, so we have to use words in order to gain a common understanding. Once we have a dialog, we develop trust. Trust is more than a brand; that is what design is about.
The world is built on the left side of the brain and therefore as a right-brain-person it is necessary to meet left-brain people on their terms regardless of what I personally feel or think. It is about respect and diplomacy and it is about the creation of trust. It’s hard and consumes a lot of energy. A question: Is it worth it? I do not know! I do know that you earn trust, and trust gives you the power to change.
Energy and time
To not be understood is normal and happens all the time, especially when you are working with specialists. Verbal communication between two people can be hard to bridge and the energy or time it takes to reach a common understanding can be difficult to recapture, especially if you are a designer with other tools than the spoken language.
The designer’s job goes deeper than just interpreting, it is understanding the true intent behind the words. If you have a high “EQ” you can make the situation work in the short term. In the long term, it is better to understand the exact meaning and eliminate the degree of misinterpretation. It will get you closer to a common truth.
Objective versus subjective
Design strategy and design briefs are a way to reach a common truth, to reach the best of terms. The only problem is that words are like design—subjective. If you can’t act like a linguistic bridge, it can be easier to choose working with people that share your type of language, verbal or not. However, that can place limits on finding the best solution, compromise the effectiveness of the project, and have negative implications for your performance review!
This article illustrates my personal reflections as a strategic designer, in an academic world. My focus is on graphic design. I talk about two senses—the ability to see and hear. The ability to visualize the overall picture. The ability to analyze details. The spoken word and their interpretation is what built our society. Facts, figures, law and order. The left brain—IQ! As a designer you mainly work from the other half, the right half.
The absence of creativity
A political environment is theoretical (thinking and talking). It is about vision and leadership. In these environments we designers have a lot to learn, as well as to teach.
The hard thing about working in a powerful organization is to work in theory. The absence of practical work, to switch between the subconscious and the conscious state can become a jail-like feeling. The freedom and the high-ceiling feeling can be far away! Instead, there are many opportunities to talk about design in a scientific way. Translate the subjective to objective. Objectivity is an acceptable language. Theoretical knowledge that is secure and highly valued.
The reward is when the tools you have are evolving, the reward for being patient and persistent. “Chaordic!”
I am not here to teach myself how to design, I am not here to learn thinking, I am here to learn how to talk. How to talk about design in a left-brain way. Over the last two years in a step-by-step, logical-world, it seems my brain has started to accept the fact of lateral thinking. That is now a part of my backbone, and works well with all types of thinking.
Endnotes
The painting ”The key of dreams” by René Magritte (1930) is a good example of one reality. Its purpose is to illustrate the distance between the language and sight. ‘Exformation’ is everything we do not actually say, but have in our head. Read more about exformation in The User Illusion by Tor Norretranders. -
The thinking that built our society.
Carina Oskarsson
Carina Oskarsson is a strategic designer at Information Rosenbad, the government offices of Sweden, responsible for trademarks. Her area of responsibility is the graphic design profile. Her group assists the government in their work and promotes objective and open communication.
She has been working as a designer for ten years. Prior to working for the government, she worked at Stockholm University, where she worked on two projects: to process a strategic brand platform, and a redesign of the visual identity. Previously, she had various assignments as a consultant. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Design from Forsbergs School.
Facts about Sweden
Sweden has around 9 million inhabitants and many of them are good designers. Stockholm is often called “The capital of Scandinavia.”
Sweden places a great deal of value on design. In 2000, a commission issued a report about design. Its purpose was to demonstrate governmental initiative, and contained many recommendations. Politicians know that design is a strategic advantage for our country …at least in words.
This article appeared in the September
2009 edition of the DMI News & Views.
Copyright © 2010 Design Management Institute All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the copyright holder.
Feedback on DMI Viewpoints and article proposals
are always welcome! Please email jtobin(at)dmi.org.
 Email this page to a colleague
|
