I love reading and learning. But with a summer break in full swing in Europe, whenever I have the opportunity to avoid scrolling, I will take it.
Therefore this collection is not about summer reads, but instead about projects that you can immerse yourself in while working on your innovation and design skills, maybe while getting suntan or taking a walk.
Enjoy!
Before we start
In general, it is a good idea to set constraints before you start any creative project: set a time limit to your work, make expectations regarding your data collection and outcomes before you begin, and write down limits and assumptions of your exercise. Put together a creative brief.
The below ideas apply to whether you intend to travel on the other side of the world, or are ready to explore in your home city. The activities are not season or weather dependent and do not require any equipment – but if you want to, you can prototype a better solution and build something on your own!
And don’t forget to drink water.
Get inspiration in public space
Law (and any form of consulting) a business of packaging information.
Neatly packaged knowledge is everywhere: public way-finding systems, exhibition information in galleries, the security check instructions at airports,…
A great exercise in fine-tuning your brain into what actually works with most people is to deliberately review information sharing in the public realm.
Observe the visual representation of any complex system and ask yourself:
- What do you like about the way the information is presented?
- Is the message getting across?
- Are there any ambiguities?
- Where is it located? How is it presented?
- How does it fare from a standpoint of accessibility and inclusive design?
If you dare, you can also pose these questions to others.
Do a review of the inclusiveness of a design
Inclusive design means making sure that everyone can fully use and enjoy the product or service.
Pick a facility: a mall, university class, a walk in the city, your local pool, or summer open air cinema, and do a review:
- How inclusive is the current design?
- How can it be made more inclusive? With a lot / very little money?
- What would it look like in an ideal world?
- What considerations were / should have been taken into account?
Before you do so, here are some resources to get you started (good beach read materials, too):
- Microsoft’s Inclusive Design Toolkit (especially this guide and their activity cards) and their Inclusive Tech Lab
- Inclusive Design Toolkit by Cambridge University
- Intro by Nielsen Norman Group
Keep a commonplace book
Empathy and observation are key skills for any creative, including any legal designer.
That’s why I always carry around a journal – one space for any random observations. I write down everything, including:
- notes from visiting architectural sites,
- doodles of designer furniture,
- my favourite creative exercise – the Bug List
Get a small journal (if that is within your means and convenience, try supporting some tiny local brand that uses sustainable materials) and write every thought and observation.
Do not filter, but go through it and edit later to be deliberate in your learning.
Your commonplace book can be also a fantastic space to mark the outcomes of the other projects above.
Final words
Whether you are venturing to the beach, clinging onto the A/C in your office, or live in another part of the world that has winter now, any time is good to explore new ways of thinking and stretch your creative muscle.
If you do any of these projects or have some other ideas, please let me know by commenting on this post, I would love to hear from you.
Have a nice summer (or any time of the year you are reading this).
Baru
