2013

Now Hiring: The Most Liberal Art
Published in The Huffington Post, January 7th, 2013

Trusting the Design Process
Published in interactions magazine, March/April, 2013

2012

Transformative Learning in the Design Studio
Published in interactions magazine, November/December, 2012

Design, in the Big and Small
Published in interactions magazine, July/August, 2012

Changing the Career Outcomes of Design Education
Published in interactions magazine, March/April, 2012

2011

Craftsmanship
Published in interactions magazine, November/December, 2011

Stupid, Stupid Client
Published in UX Magazine, August, 2011

The Conflicting Rhetoric of Design Education
Published in interactions magazine, July/August, 2011

Endless Nights - Learning from Design Studio Critique
Published in interactions magazine, March/April, 2011

How Do You Transform Good Research Into Great Innovations?
Published in Fast Company, January 12, 2011

Cultural Values That Will Make Your Office an Idea Factory
Part 2 of 3: A description of the cultural values that support synthesis.

When Trying to Invent, Being Objective Can Cripple Your Process
Published in Fast Company, January 27, 2011

Unveiling the Magic of Design: The Role of Synthesis
Published in Rotman Magazine, Winter, 2011.

2010

On Academic Knowledge Production
Published in interactions magazine, September, 2010.

On Education
Published in interactions magazine, July, 2010.

On Language and Potential
Published in interactions magazine, May, 2010.

Sensemaking and Framing: A Theoretical Reflection on Perspective in Design Synthesis
Published in 2010 Design Research Society conference proceedings.

Designing in the Face of Change: The Elusive Push Towards Emotionally Resonant Experiences
Published in The New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia, published by Taylor and Francis.

Abductive Thinking and Sensemaking: The Drivers of Design Synthesis
Published in MIT's Design Issues, 26:1, Winter 2010.

2009

The Authenticity Problem
Published in interactions magazine, November/December, 2009.

On Hopelessness and Hope
Published in interactions magazine, July, 2009.

Our Misguided Focus on Brand and User Experience
Published on Johnny Holland, December 1st, 2009.

2008

The Appearance of Influence
Published in Design Mind, issue 10

2007

The Tenuous Relationship Between Design and Innovation
Published in Artifact Magazine, Volume 1, issue 3.

Information Architecture and Design Strategy: The Importance of Synthesis during the Process of Design.
Published in the IDSA 2007 Conference.

Information Architecture: Synthesis Techniques for the Muddy Middle of the Design Process
Published in the 23rd International Conference on the Beginning Design Student.

2005

Design as Communication: The Increasing Case for Literacy in Academia
Published in the IDSA 2005 Conference.

New Techniques in Industrial Design Education
Published in the 6th International Conference of the European Academy of Design.

TRIBA: A Cable Television Retrieval and Awareness System
Published in the 2005 Computer/Human Interaction Conference proceedings.

2004

Mixing Disciplines in Anticipation of Convergence: A Curriculum for Teaching Interaction Design to Industrial Designers
Published in Interactions Magazine.

2003

User-Driven Brand Design : Establishing a Convergent Brand Experience
Published in Tweak, Q4/03.

Jan 6, 2013 Designer as Product Owner
There's a creature in software companies called the "product manager" (almost always referred to as the "product guy", hammering home the unfortunate fact that nearly all software companies are full of men. For fun, I'll switch it 'round for the remainder of this post.) The product gal has a strange role, in that her focus is on product-market-fit...

June 26, 2012 Code Is Material: Why Designers Must Learn To Code
It would seem obvious and non-contentious to say that if you are crafting a digital product, you should know how to code. It is neither obvious nor non-contentious...

April 30, 2012 Do You Want Critique, Or A Hug? How to Gain Valuable Criticism On Your Design
One of the most fundamental parts of the process of design is the critique, a formal opportunity for the designer to receive feedback from a group of people. There's a lack of good literature on critique, although there are a few notable exceptions, and so for most, critique remains a mysterious tool...

April 15, 2012 It's Hard, And I'm Just Not Passionate About It
Words that make me cringe. I get frustrated and annoyed with things just like anyone else, but I've never felt the sentiment of these sentences - yet I've heard them from entrepreneurs looking to start their own companies, from consultants working on projects, and from people trying their best to orbit the giant hairball that is a Fortune company...

April 4, 2012 Thoughts On Design Portfolios
Designers are typically judged based on their portfolio of work. When I worked at frog, I encountered lots of unsolicited portfolios. The sad reality of sending a portfolio to a consultancy is that your chances of getting a job are a weighted dice roll, based on a mixture of extremely fast first impressions, serendipitous timing, and who you know...

Mar 3, 2012 How To Start A School In 10 "Easy" Steps
When I describe what I'm doing at Austin Center for Design, the common reaction is, "You started a school? How do you do that?" I'm not exactly sure, honestly, because the process only seems logical in retrospect: I sort of made it up as I went along. However, I thought it might be informative to describe the steps I went through in a purely mechanical manner...