From the offset, Wilson Miner states, “We put so much of ourselves into these things, but they’re just things. Tools, they fulfil a need, take us where we want to go” essentially enhancing our skill set as humans, and to not focus so much on the “thing” itself, rather what it allows us to achieve.
He then goes onto talk about change. This resonated with me as it is a key fundamental for my life, and which I based my manifesto around. In my opinion allowing change should be something everyone should not only be open to but looking for. He says “a new medium changes our outlook. Changes how we behave and changes how we think”.
In relation to change Miner states “the car itself hasn’t changed much in the past 100 years. But think of how much we changed the world around it.”
“We changed our whole environment based on the car”
“We changed our whole way of living.”
This opened my eyes to a completely new way of thinking. For a singular technological advancement, we altered the whole world to work with it. With further advancements in the future the world will continue to drastically change until it is almost unrecognisable to the one we know today.
A quotation that stood out to me “at times of change, the learners are the ones who will inherit the world, while the knowers will be beautifully prepared for a world that no longer exists”
Later he mentions “Everything we’ve done in interaction design from [the first computer] to now basically revolves around one core interaction between a human and a screen” and from this, instead of adding to the equation, we start to take away elements making them invisible entirely. Suggesting the key to good design is to not being able to notice it at all.
Good design is so important to us a humans, it influences everything in modern society. Miner states “the things we choose to surround ourselves with will shape who we become” if this is the case surely we’re going to want to the things we surround ourselves to be good? Allowing us to be the best versions of ourselves imaginable. Helping us complete tasks in the most efficient way possible.
In conclusion, Miner has given an insightful view on what design means to him. Encouraging the listener to think outside the box, allowing more innovation. It has opened my eyes to things I’ve never thought about, thus prompting me to make better design choices in the future.