Design "is not about making something pretty" but "a way of trying to understand what the real issues are, addressing them, and doing so with a focus on people," insists Donald (Don) Arthur Norman. He should know, having coined the term 'User Experience or UX' and being the first person to have UX in his title when he worked at Apple in the mid-90s. Today, many people, including designers, fear losing their jobs to artificial intelligence (AI), and generative AI.
Norman, however, sees this as a "great opportunity" for designers to lead the way and demonstrate how AI can be developed differently than it is now. "As the head of a company or chief design officer of a large company, designers have to do what they're told to do. I'm saying 'No'," 88-year-old Norman asserted in an interview during his visit to India last week.
He reasons that designers are creative and “should be determining what needs to be done." Norman adds, though, that to take on this challenge, designers would need a broader education. He walks the talk with degrees in engineering and psychology.
“I understand technology and people, and how business works, having been an industry executive. I've also gone to Congress in the US to try to get the first Wi-Fi band and other standards. And I understand how politics works," he elaborates.
Norman says he’s trying to change the way design is taught. His goal is to help schools worldwide to become accredited to focus on humanity-centred work. "At deemed (autono.