This semester, I’ve been teaching a class that originally was called Internationalization and World-Ready Product Design. The class stands in a long line of academic tradition of having really long names that are hard to remember. Despite that, the class has been a fun exploration of culture, technology, inclusion, ethics, and design aesthetics. One of the themes that we keep hitting on, and my guest last week emphasized, is that we typically rely on a limited history of design aesthetics that is rooted in certain cultural traditions and leaves out (or even completely are ignorant of) others.

Aesthetics put simply is the philosophical investigation of art and beauty, how people evaluate things in terms of those properties, and how those aesthetics are part of design. American philosopher John Dewey in his book Art as Experience talked about how art and aesthetics should be integrated into everyday life. There is inspiration from and unity in art and everyday experiences, especially how our appreciation and imagination of the everyday can be rooted in artistic expressions. This in turn becomes part of how we envision design.

We can see how this has an impact on our work as experience designers. How do we think about art, beauty, usability, and overall aesthetics in the design products that create?

To explore this issue and these questions, I welcome Ravi Sawhney to Experience by Design. Ravi is an industrial designer, and co-founder of RKS Designs. He also is co-founder of RKS Guitars, which he worked with rock star Dave Mason (of Traffic, Delaney and Bonnie, and Derek and the Dominos, among many other accomplished groups). Together, they redesigned how the guitar would look in a new amazing form, as well as conceptualized how guitars could be modular. The focus on aesthetics extends into how RKS does other design work, including user interfaces, brands, packaging, and much more.

Ravi talks about his journey to founding RKS, as well as what led to him working with Dave Mason (who recently died when we recorded this). He describes his approach of Psycho-Aesthetics, which is a “design methodology that merges psychology with aesthetic design to understand how products and experiences influence human emotion, thoughts, and behaviors.” He also talks about Psychoaesthetics Artificial Augmented Intelligence, a new human intelligence layer that controls and directs AI through human-centered design principles.

Ravi shares his career journey from working as a model maker to becoming an industrial designer at Xerox PARC, where he developed the first graphical interface for a touchscreen while working with PhD psychologists and programmers. Ravi discusses his approach to helping organizations overcome client resistance to disruptive change by using design to create positive experiences and affirmations that lead to adoption of new ideas.

We also talk about old tech, Teddy Ruxpin, remote controls, and coffee mugs.

RKS Design: https://rksdesign.com/

Psycho-Aesthetics: https://rksdesign.com/psycho-aesthetics-design-thinking/

RKS Guitars: https://rksdesign.com/rks-guitars/

Ravi Sawhney on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravisawhney/

There are a lot of aspects of my job that I enjoy. Perhaps the most enjoyable is helping students prepare for a fulfilling life where they can find a professional and personal path that will work for them. Not that we as professors can be fully responsible for that. But I think all professors see themselves as Robin Williams either in Good Will Hunting or Dead Poets Society. We want to reach our students in a way that provides a lasting impact.

Another part of this is trying to extend one’s own profession through the lives of younger aspiring professionals. Ideally, we provide a platform on which they can stand and advance, further progressing the work we have done and hoping for greater progress when the reins are turned over to new generations. Here is what we have done and learned, and now it is up to you all to advance what we started. I can’t say “finish what we started” because progress is never finished. But through continued progress, we can hope that things just keep getting better for more and more people.

While we all can be beneficiaries of such progress, it is important to keep in mind those who have been historically marginalized, making sure that progress is not just felt by them, but directed toward them.

To discuss professional pipelines and intentional inclusion, I welcome Steven Wakabayashi to Experience by Design podcast. Steven has a fascinating history, majoring in physiology/neuroscience as well as theater/dance, which was a unique combination for a pre-med path. However, his own work creating websites and a gap year led him to focus on design as a career.

We talk about his low-tech childhood, where he had to find ways to use creativity to occupy his time. Steven discusses the importance of taking creative risks and making mistakes during one’s education. Steven explores how design is becoming increasingly homogenized due to Eurocentric perspectives and corporate aesthetics, but highlights the importance of global design diversity, particularly from Asia, Africa, and different Asian countries. He explains that while some designers seek corporate jobs for stability, clients are increasingly seeking fresh and innovative designs that often draw inspiration from underrepresented communities and activism.

Steven describes his efforts related to the QTBIPOC Design fellowship, providing a pipeline for diverse talent to make a difference through design. We also explore how leveraging individual experiences and cultural backgrounds can enhance problem-solving and create more effective designs. We end with discussing the need for adaptability in design practices as contexts and audiences evolve rapidly, emphasizing the importance of being open to new approaches and continuously reassessing needs.

Stranger Creative: https://strangercreative.com/

QTBIPOC Design: https://qtbipoc.design/

Steven Wakabayashi Website: https://stevenwakabayashi.com/

Steven Wakabayashi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenwakabayashi/

I am just back from being at Customer Contact Week in Nashville, where I was lucky enough to be a keynote speaker. In one of those moments that I’ll likely never repeat, I was on the Country Music Hall of Fame stage. I even got to use the Vince Gill waiting room before going on stage. It was all very cool, and a lot of fun to be where many famous artists have been before me. I hope I did them proud in my own performance. I was told the talk went well by people who saw it. It’s hard to tell from the stage, at least for me it is. I also think I could have done better, and usually focus on what I should have done rather than how well I executed what I did.

Overall the event was really interesting, and I learned a lot about what’s happening in the industry. One of the key takeaways was the focus on customer service and experience, including its connection to employee experience. There was a lot of conversation around how to integrate technology, especially AI, to deliver better experiences for everyone involved in the contact center interaction. People still matter, and human moments need humans in them! That’s the good news. Perhaps the bad news is that companies still don’t know how to leverage this technology, buying into the hype rather than focusing on their core strategy. This means that even vendors have to educate clients on how to best implement the technology.

Sorting all of this out is going to require some leadership. And more specifically, servant leadership that focuses on providing benefits to others rather than just enriching ourselves.

This is why I am fortunate to have Arthur Adams on Experience by Design.

Arthur and I share roots in Detroit, Michigan, which already tells you the high quality person that he is. Beyond that, he grew up with a father who was a minister. Both of these foundations led to his emphasis on serving others and embracing a resilient attitude in life. His own journey started out in supply chain, working with CSX in roles that included VP of Sales and Customer Engagement, as well as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Now he is extending his service through his book, “Servant Leaders Finish First,” which provides a “yearlong journey of purpose, presence, and resilience.”

We talk about how modern leaders are faced with a myriad of inputs that they have to manage and make sense of. As a result, the modern leader is fatigued with higher rates of burnout and turnover. To become better leaders, we need to constantly revisit service as the core of our calling. This requires periods of self reflection, self awareness, and engagement in meaningful work. Additionally, we need to be able to take care of ourselves given the cost that can come with service to others.

Arthur Adams Website: https://arthurlead.com/

Arthur Adam LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arthurladamsjr/

“Servant Leaders Finish First”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H8B8TVQH