“I give the geese what they want.”
The key to successful permaculture systems: “Giving each species what it wants.”
“Graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister takes the audience on a whimsical journey through moments of his life that made him happy — and notes how many of these moments have to do with good design. TED talk, 2004”
And here: Things I have Learned In My Life So Far
Don Norman on 3 ways good design makes you happy.
Some notes:
Levels of processing: Visceral, Behavioural, Reflective
Cognition = noticing; Emotion = interpreting.
Useful: In a happy brain state = you come up with lots of weird ideas, but you don’t get any work done.
In a stressed brain state = you focus better. Set deadlines and put pressure on yourself to get any work done, haha.
Also see on sidebar: Other talks from TED on “What Makes Us Happy?”
“Several groups, ranging from economists and bioengineers to Christian creationists, have claimed the word ‘design’ as their own. They might have an etymological right to do so, but they also contribute to the ambiguity surrounding one of the most important and least studied fields of human applied creativity, the process of making things for other people. From chairs to interfaces, from food-delivery trucks to conceptual scenarios on the impact of nanotechnology — design takes into account people’s needs and concerns, helping them live better within the broad context of the world; it maximizes the available means to achieve the most satisfying outcome, and produces culture in the process.
“That’s the ideal design process: a unique model of thought and action perfectly suited to times of great challenge and great opportunity. In an ideal world, social responsibility would be a prerequisite for design, and designers would vow to produce beautiful, useful, positive, responsible, functional, and economical things and concepts that are meaningful additions to — or sometimes subtractions from — the world we live in. Indeed, design deserves such thoughtful consideration.”
“Information from research studies and class work by students and faculty in the Cornell Human Factors and Ergonomics Research Group (CHFERG), directed by Professor Alan Hedge, in the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis at Cornell University. CHFERG focuses on ways to enhance usability by improving the ergonomic design of hardware, software, and workplaces, to enhance people’s comfort, performance and health in an approach we call Ergotecture. We recognize that this is also as an important component of the Department’s Ecotecture sustainable design approach.”
“This website is a consolidated information source for designers, architects, and other individuals interested in the design of ecologically responsible facilities. On this site you will find the information organized by design phases for a facility into 4 main topic areas: External Considerations, Core and Envelope, Indoor Ecology, and Materials and Products. Within each topic area there are a number of subcomponent considerations that include research information, tools for application, case studies of facilities that have applied these considerations, and further guidance where you can investigate these considerations in greater detail.”
“Sustainably designed buildings aim to lessen their impact on our environment through energy and resource efficiency. This guide will lead you to information on this topic and give you strategies for locating newer materials. Unless otherwise noted, all materials are in the Environmental Design Library, UC Berkeley.”
