For the past 4 years or more I have idolized anyone who works at IDEO. The company is the epitome of what design means to me. It is creative, interactive, inclusive, team-oriented and above all the company is process based. They really care about solving a problem and not just to say they solved it. They want to find the best and most effective solution for both their client as well as for their users.
Unlike many other jobs, they are not a typical desk job. They ask (and require) that their workers get out into the world to find real life answers to the problems they are looking at. They understand that the design process is not sitting at a desk all day staring at a computer screen. It is about getting out there and finding inspiration from the world around you. Designers are not meant to be cooped up working on their Adobe programs for 8 hours, they are meant to constantly be up, moving and searching for something, anything, that gets them ticking. Problems do not solve themselves. They require full attention, play, refinement, research and team work to find the best solutions.
Today I think that's the problem with so many design firms. Employees feel as if they need to be sitting at their desks all day or it looks as if they're not working. How is it that design came to be this way? We are in an age where right-brainers are a vital part of our economy and as a right-brainer I know that I do not work my best while sitting in a desk chair. I work best while my brain is running and my hands are moving.
If you're a designer, get inspired by this video about IDEO. The way they work gets my heart racing every time I watch this because these people truly are designers and they truly care about solving the problem.
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