I’m a Master of Design candidate at the IIT Institute of Design in Chicago. I find it awkward to give unsolicited information about myself, but I justify it by offering answers to questions that I receive all the time about what it is, exactly, that I do (and to a tiny extent, to convince myself!)
What’s the etymology of “Yak Shaving”? Why did you call your blog that?
Yak Shaving is probably from a Ren & Stimpy episode, but it was made popular by the MIT Media lab. Yak shaving is defined as “Any seemingly pointless activity which is actually necessary to solve a problem which solves a problem which, several levels of recursion later, solves the real problem you’re working on.”
Yak Shaving seems to be the story of my life. I enjoy the challenge of solving complex, interesting human problems. This blog is an outlet for me to think about those problems. So, a lot of my posts will be about new technologies and potential human applications. But since I tend to jump all over the place, the posts may seem a bit disconnected. Hence, Yak shaving. Some day, there will be an underlying theme to all of this. Ultimately every random rumination will contribute to something sustainable, meaningful, and optimistic.
Is this just another way to cover up your eccentricity/ADD by putting it in a positive light?
Probably.
What are you passionate about?
* Social Entrepreneurship: So, in my limited experience on earth, the strongest force I’ve witnessed to bring about social change is business. Not religion, not government or policy (I said strongest). Creating sustainable enterprises with the intent to improve humanity is a significant personal desire.
* Bottom of the Pyramid/Emerging Markets: CK Prahalad wrote a seminal book in 2004 called “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid”. Since then, the World Resources institute has created a blog detailing BOP ventures called NextBillion, Dr. Muhammad Yunus has won the Nobel Peace Prize, Buffett and Gates have committed vast fortunes to end poverty and associated problems, RED has launched to end AIDS in Africa, and an innovative startup, Kiva.org, is doing microlending to entrepreneurs in developing countries. I am currently attending the IIT Institute of Design - where we have an ongoing Design for the BOP research project. (Incidentally, it is the primary reason I decided to come to school here)
* Futurism: I was first exposed to futurism when I read the Futurist magazine in a library. I went to a World Future Society conference in Toronto, and I met some really bright people. I gained a better understanding for the contemporary problems facing humanity and realized it would be up to our generation to come up with clever solutions to these problems or suffer dire consequences.
* The environment: I read something last year that suggested a person’s propensity to be “green” was defined by his/her experiences with nature when they were young children. When I was younger, I loved taking field trips to the nature conservatory. Today, I still love spending time outdoors, and I do everything I can to sustain our now fragile ecosystem. I take public transportation, ride a bicycle to school, and recycle when I can (though Chicago recycling is highly suspect). When I design *stuff* (where stuff=products, services, experiences, and strategies), I will do my best to adhere to a triple bottom line philosophy.
* Design: It is part of the core human experience to make meaning. Scientist Herb Simon says “Everyone designs who devises course of action aimed at changing existing situations.” By that definition, hopefully even you, dear reader, are a designer.
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Why is design so important?
First, instinctual response: Ahhhh! Are you serious? Look around. Do you see how much utter, useless, crap is made… and people actually buy? Not only that, but the entire advertising industry revolves around getting people to part with their hard earned money for useless crap. Crap that ends up in landfills and adds no value to humanity.
Second, more thoughtful response:
Design is important because it seeks to solve human problems. Gregg Easterbook said at the Massive Change global visionaries symposium that “Design is dedicated to human possibility”. I think this captures in a few words why I find the meaning and importance of design to be profound.
What is Design planning?
Design planning seeks to fuse enterprise and design. If the sole purpose of business is to increase shareholder value, then the designer’s raison d’etre is to serve as an advocate for the user and increase the utility he/she will receive from consuming products and services.
You said you’re into Futurism. Aren’t futurists a bunch of bizarre nostradamus-fanatics with nothing better to do?
That’s what I thought too, before I went to the WFS conference. If you’re in the Chicago area, come to a meetup, and we’ll talk. Futurists read, and write books about new technologies and their implications for mankind… offer scenarios that societies, businesses, and policy-makers might face and suggest potential solutions.
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So, what is it exactly that you’re going to do after you graduate (or while you’re going to school?)
… I also get this question a lot (especially from friends & family), and its probably a good thing that I’m writing a response.
I have a tremendous amount to learn from the world. For the foreseeable future, I would like to formalize my learning by serving as a management consultant in some regard. I understand the social impact that can be made by improving business’ abilities to innovate and develop coherent strategies.
Eventually, as a design planner/strategist/social entrepreneur, I’d love to bring social innovations to market–a notable example is the Playpump: It is a merry-go-round attached to a water pump that provides communities with safe-drinking water. From the website: “In total, 4,000 PlayPump™ systems will bring the benefits of clean drinking water to 10 million people in 10 countries by 2010, enabling improvements in health, education, gender equality and economic development.”
If you can make playground furniture that makes kids happy and alleviates the water crisis in impoverished areas, I’d argue that’s extremely fulfilling.
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The degree you’re pursuing sounds cool. Where can I find out more about it?
http://id.iit.edu (or just email me about it, contact information below)
What sorts of stuff do you like reading?
I actually get asked this frequently. If I had all day and I didn’t have assignments due for school that keep me up for hours in the studio, I’d be reading a lot more than I do. Right now, I try to limit myself to a book every few weeks and of course blogs. As I tell many people, if RSS was a drug, I’d snort it. There’s so much information out there, that it forces us to be very discriminating on what we actually consume. I’m still not great at limiting the amount of stuff out there that I spend precious time looking at. See the links at the right for the mosaic of stuff I’ve found notable and worth your time.
