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The Accidental Brilliance of Makeshift Signs | Kate Canales | TED
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Anyone interested in design, human behavior, and the clever ways we navigate everyday objects and spaces.
TL;DR
Designer Kate Canales shares her fascination with makeshift signs, viewing them as brilliant, human solutions to design flaws. These everyday instructions, often found in bathrooms or on complex machines, reveal ingenious problem-solving and a shared need for guidance.
Key Takeaways
- Makeshift signs, often overlooked, represent ingenious human problem-solving that bridges gaps in original design.
- Many everyday objects and environments, from keypads to public bathrooms, require additional instructions to be truly usable.
- The makers of these impromptu signs act as designers, intervening to ensure functionality and user success.
- These signs reveal a fundamental human need for guidance and support in navigating the designed world.
- The existence of these signs highlights that even with technological advancement, we still rely on each other for basic functionality.
- The act of creating and leaving helpful signs is a tender, human gesture that improves the experience for others.
- Over-designed or slick products can become illegible, demonstrating that clarity of function is paramount.
- Even simple design tasks can miss the mark, necessitating these layers of user-generated instruction.
In This Video
- 00:00Designer's Superpower: Noticing Everyday Signs
Kate Canales, a designer, notices and photographs signs that help people navigate everyday situations, seeing makers as designers.
- 01:10Makeshift Signs: Ingenious Problem-Solving
She views these signs as ingenious solutions, adding necessary instructions to make original designs usable and functional.
- 02:19Common Struggles: Point of Sale and Bathrooms
Common issues arise with point-of-sale machines and public bathrooms, areas frequently requiring extra guidance.
- 03:30Over-Designed Machines Need Clarity
Slickly designed machines can be confusing. Signs clarify their simple functions, like dispensing water.
- 04:03From Bad Design to Human Ingenuity
Initially documenting bad design, she now preserves signs as examples of clever human problem-solving.
- 04:31Imagining Problems Before Signs
She invites visualization of situations before signs existed, like elevators that don't stop on certain floors.
- 06:50Humanity in Simple Instructions
Simple, human signs show we still need each other. They offer reassurance and make experiences better.
Questions & Answers
What does Kate Canales do?
Kate Canales is a designer whose superpower is noticing how people navigate the designed world, particularly everyday situations that require extra coaching through signs.
What kind of signs does Kate Canales photograph?
She photographs signs that help people navigate everyday situations, especially where original design is functional but not intuitive, requiring an extra layer of instruction.
Why are some signs needed even if a product is functional?
Some products, like a keypad or a water dispenser, are over-designed or slick, making their function unclear until an additional sign provides necessary instruction.
What was Kate Canales' initial mission with her sign photographs?
Initially, she aimed to document examples of bad design that frustrate users, but she evolved to see them as ingenious human problem-solving.
What does Kate Canales find reassuring about makeshift signs?
She finds it reassuring that despite technological advancements, humans still need each other and leave instructions (like makeshift signs) to improve others' experiences.
What is the significance of makeshift signs according to Kate Canales?
Makeshift signs are evidence of humanity, showing that people take the time to leave instructions to make others' experiences better than their own.
Key Terms
- Design superpower — Kate Canales' ability to keenly observe and understand how people interact with designed objects and environments.
- Makeshift signs — Informal, often handmade signs created to provide necessary instructions or clarifications for navigating everyday situations.
- Ingenious human problem-solving — The clever and effective solutions people create, often through signs, to overcome design flaws or usability issues.
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