Loyalty to the Nation of Design?
So there’s a lot of conversation about outsourcing product design and development, with an undercurrent of Western fear - that *my* job, my salary will leave and go overseas. It’s polarizing, and often nationalistic, with an artificial “designed in the USA” product patriotism.
There is a real conversation there, but it’s a red herring for most intents and purposes…I’m excited about opportunities for design outsourcing. I preserve a Stockdale Paradoxical conviction that there is a place in the world for design thinkers that includes and embraces the intelligence and contributions of designers from all nations. If design sourcing is diffused across the globe, what opportunities exist? What new options open up? How will the bar be raised for individuals and for corporations? Will good design become more common? Better understood? More affordable to more clients? I think so.
Good design transcends borders, boundaries, and creates value through overlap and intersection. As overlap increases, so does opportunity. Exciting times, and in times like these, I find my loyalty tied to creating greater value by meeting human needs and business goals, loyalty not to a nation, but to design. In fact, I probably have more in common with creatives the world over than with many of my fellow citizens - too bad there’s not a nation called Design - I’d be first in line for a passport ;-)
This entry was posted on Monday, January 16th, 2006 at 6:20 am and is filed under , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.