Tension

A design team’s job is not to empathise. Or wireframe. Or laud the double diamond.

It’s much simpler than that: It’s to resolve tension. Specifically, the tension between where we are and where we want to be.

Where we are is the current reality we’re in. The clunky process or janky product. A broken system. Loggerheads between stakeholders. A shrinking budget. And then all the constraints that come with it.

Where we want to be is the goal. The spot we want to get to. It can be a vision, a target metric, a better state or a million other things.

The clearer these things are, the better. Because then gap is clear. And the tension we need to resolve is right there in front of us. It’s not easy. In fact, most of the time it’s bloody hard. But it’s a whole lot easier than trying to do this job without it.

If you’re a designer, do your utmost to define where we are and where we want to be. Then, when the tension is so pronounced you could cut it with a knife, grab a blade and get to work.