I really enjoy what Frank Chimero writes. I like the clarity, the honesty as well, and I also like nor knowing what to expect from a new post. This talk is no different.

I’ve just kept some passages for further reference below. The talk is a must read!

We often mischaracterize design as a practice of problem-solving, as
if the problems go away. But closure, at least in my experience, is so
rare in design. The loops stay open, because most problems are
chronic. They shift forms…

Set your feet and plant roots. So much needs to be improved, changed,
and fixed, but the important work isn’t for those who wish to flit
from place to place. We need people who live and work well in their
places. Folks who commit, and realize they need to build the home they
want rather than hoping to find it…

there is a different satisfaction to the work which does not get much
fanfare: the slow burn of being able to see things more clearly. This
sounds easy, but like many seemingly easy things, it is difficult,
deep, and profound. What kinds of things? So much: the problem, your
work, the talents of your co-workers, your role from job to job, your
audience, their needs, their requirements, their unspoken desires…

Design’s golden calf is simplicity. Speaking as someone who sees,
makes, and uses design each and every day, I am tired of simple
things. Simple things are weak. They are limited. They are boring.
What I truly want is clarity. Give me clear and evident things over
simple things. Make me things that presume and honor my intelligence.
Shun seamlessness. It is another false token. Make me things that are
full of seams, because if you give me a seam and I pull the thread, I
get to see how the whole world is stitched together. Give me some
credit. Show me you trust me…

Things don’t have to be simple. They don’t have to scale. They don’t
even have to be profitable. You can buck all of those assumptions that
became gospel. And you can do it for no other reason than to start
making something with fresh materials and new assumptions. Design,
after all, is a way of creating. Seeking closure from problem-solving
is only half of the picture. There is also looking for the openings by
seeking opportunities…

Sometimes the question is more important than the answer. We are
caught in an open loop, so the door to the unknown stays open to
opportunity, open to possibility…