There’s an age-old question that goes something like this: Do you live to work or work to live?

That question has seldom been pondered by so many as in the past year. People asking themselves: What is the value or a job or career? What does stability look like? What is risk — and what is worth risking? As we’ve seen entire sectors disappear and new ones emerge from the dust, the future of time, money, work, and value look radically different today than they did 24 months ago.

At this point we’re all largely familiar with stories about everyday…

“The content needs to be approachable. We can’t use bank speak, we need to use human terminologies that actually resonate. And it also matters how we approach the problem set.”

— Shane Berry, Head of Design at LendUp/Mission Lane

Cartoons and movies predicted we’d be living in space by now. Sharp minds in tech predicted cars would fly, we’d control appliances with our minds, and smart homes would make dinner for our families. …

What is the most important part of design research? Recruiting participants!

Educator and design expert Jon Kolko walks through how to develop a research plan, define the right participants, work with a screener (or use participant intercepts and social media for broader groups), how many people you need to interview, and other methods needed to gather the information you really need to design for the end user.

Have you seen the first three videos in this series? If not, start with an Introduction to Design Strategy and learn more about the whole process!

Watch the newest video below.

Learn more about Modernist’s approach to…

When we set out to consider the new frontier of education, the world was contemplating — and rapidly responding to — the great unknown. With vaccine distribution ramping up to record highs and many educational leaders planning to resume in-classroom teaching this spring, we are entering a moment when it would be far too easy to ignore the learnings presented to us over the last year and return to the old way of doing things.

With that in mind, we’re sharing some key opportunities for later-stage education — many of which could be directly applicable today. For instance:

• How to…

Human-centered design, design thinking, design strategy, user experience, UI, innovation…“Design” has been a buzzword for over a decade now. Companies want design. But are they ready for it?

At Modernist, we work with a variety of (mostly large) clients, and there are some consistent indicators that predict whether creative projects will be successful, and what some of the largest challenges will be. As we build up this predictive knowledge, we can start to strategically change our approach to help our clients achieve success. …

Many designers are intimidated by writing — but language is fundamental to crafting a design strategy.

Design is a craft-based discipline. We make things — traditionally, these have been physical, tangible objects — crafting furniture out of wood or steel, or printing posters with paper and ink. As design evolved to include interactions and behavior, the “materials” expanded to include pixels, motion, and diagrams — things that incorporate time and digital spaces. Now, design is expanding again, as we increasingly focus on design strategy.

Strategy includes plans, policies, and frameworks, and so our material toolkit is growing to include language…

Education used to set the pace for industry. Universities were hallowed grounds for scholars to experiment with world changing ideas and inventions. Along the line the tables turned — with industry innovations largely outrunning university ones. Graduating students began entering the workforce with inadequate real-world skills, lacking experience collaborating with groups and communities in ways that create impact, and missing the kind of curiosity of spirit that gives us a horizon to strive for.

Throughout history, major changes have fueled innovation — from the printing press to the automobile to globalization to pandemics. Change forces us to make room for…

Design research is about spending time with real people and using their experiences as the center of influence for our designs — rather than shaping them based on technical and market trends.

In this video on design strategy and research, Modernist COO Jon Kolko — expert designer, strategist, educator, author, and founder of Austin Center for Design — shares the details of how to conduct design research, including looking for anomalies instead of commonalities, shifting power dynamics to the user, getting buy-in from skeptics, and techniques that quickly build rapport with research participants.

Watch the video below.

If you haven’t seen them, be…