Five Articles From 2022 You May Have Missed

As we wrap up the end of another calendar year, we wanted to draw attention to some articles that may have slipped under your radar. We hope you enjoy these reads!

Good Design: Garbage cans in Brazil

By John Salmon

This article is a fun, insightful read. While traveling in Brazil, John took note of the various garbage can designs he saw and what made these designs good for their environments. There’s no one “right” way to design something, and we can all be inspired by the diversity of design around the world.

Marketing Pulls verses Engineering Pushes 

By Bradley Hollingworth

Should designers ask what people want, or give them something new that they didn’t imagine? How do you design around both ideas? Bradley explains how marketing pulls (asking people what they want) and engineering pushes (giving people something they couldn’t have imagined) are both important to a good design practice. Read this article and begin thinking about how these philosophies will impact your design practice.

The Risky Business of Design 

By Terri Bateman and Carl Sorenson

Designers take risks during product development. What do you do when these risks don’t pay off, or how can you hedge against these risks? Sharing examples from skateboarding and the automotive industry, Carl and Terri explain how designers can simultaneously pursue risky, high reward ideas and low risk, reliable designs.  

Ideation Techniques: Assessing the effectiveness of your Brainstorming Session

By Samuel McKinnon

Brainstorming is foundational to a lot of ideation activities. However, most people do not know how to become better brainstormers. And in order to get better at something, you need to know how well you’re doing in the first place. This article will teach you about four metrics you can use to measure how well your brainstorming is going: quantity, quality, variety, and novelty. Then, you’ll learn a few tips on how to improve in each of those areas. 

Eight Tips for Acing Your Internship

By Kaytlin Collins Blanco

Internships give students an opportunity to apply what they’ve learned, and skills they’ve gained, in a real world setting. Not only are they important for career preparation, many institutions require them before graduation or application for future employment. Kaytlin’s 8 tips can prepare you for and help you make the most of your next internship.

Thanks for continuing to be part of the BDR community. Happy reading and good luck designing!