Focus on what we should be doing, not just what we can
John Maeda, the new president of RISD, wrote some smart words in Esquire (where he was profiled as one of 75 most influential people):
“Technological advances have always been driven more by a mind-set of “I can” than “I should,” and never more so than today. Technologists love to cram maximum functionality into their products. That’s “I can” thinking, which is driven by peer competition and market forces. (It’s easier to sell a device with ten features than one.) But this approach ignores the far more important question of how the consumer will actually use the device. […]
When I welcome my first incoming class this fall, I plan to focus on how RISD’s core ideals of art and design can humanize our advancing technologies. Or, put another way, to focus on what we should be doing, not just what we can.”
(via Steve Portigal)
You’re welcome! And he’s not writing a column for Esquire, he’s profiled as one of the 75 most influential people blah blah blah.
Corrected.
[…] Focus on what we should be doing, not just what we can […]