You Are a Designer
Two conversations that reflected my talk after TEDxUCSanDiego
Why it matters:
Design isn’t just for designers. Every day, we make choices that shape experiences for students, colleagues, customers, neighbors, friends, and family.
In a world increasingly shaped by automation, algorithms, and AI, our (lack of) humanity shows up in those choices. But we’re still designing.
The early reactions from attendees to my recent TEDx talk give me hope for the impact this message will carry forward.
Go deeper:
Last week I took the stage for a TEDx talk at UC San Diego. My “idea worth spreading” was Using Design to Bring Back our Humanity in a World Full of Code.
In many ways, the talk was one that I’d been shaping across the last 18 months, but it was never one I thought I’d bring to the TED stage. It was an accumulation of ideas shared in my last few years of consulting with 1000s of attendees and even longer thinking about the ways that we make design more accessible to a wider audience since my experience with Global Service Jam a decade ago and what’s at stake with how we’re designing.
And that was really my goal. Last year I was nominated for a TEDx talk and after submitting my application and interviewing, I later found out I just missed the cut.
I’ve always revered the TED stage but hadn’t seriously considered my “idea worth spreading” until that nomination. And in fairness, when I was nominated this year I was far more excited about the topic I proposed for the red dot.
A peek backstage
Giving this talk was unlike any keynote or speaking engagement I’ve ever done. It was shaped more like a script and delivered more like a performance. I unlearned my “speaker voice” and traded for a more casual tone. I watched and listened to it dozens of time for word choice and length with plenty more I wished I could say. I’m thinking about ways that I can share small doses here and elsewhere to continue the conversation I hope my talk starts.
It was special to have my mom in the audience (a surprise) and be surrounded by so many across my San Diego community (and as far as DC) to be part of bringing this message to life. It meant so much to me to have the support as the only local speaker for this year’s event.
Why this idea and early signals of impact
But my goal from the beginning of this pursuit has always been about the conversation that it might start. One that positions us all as designers for one another through our choices and all of us with the power to make those choices with other humans, while connecting with one another.
We’ve seen what it looks like when we lose our humanity in our choices, and I hope my talk can be a case for advocating against bad design and reconnecting with one another while we solve problems together.
It’s been powerful to see how the message is landing, both on social media (I really appreciated these summaries from Jarazet and Erin) and in person. Two conversations are sticking with me today from entirely different parts of my talk:
On design:
A design student at UCSD invited a few of her friends in science fields to the event. After my talk she said “Your talk was really helpful and made design really accessible. My friends have never understood what I’m studying, and now they do. They think it’s cool. And honestly, you used language that helped me understand design better too.”
That comment might have meant more to me than any compliment about the talk itself. The entire goal was to make design feel accessible….not as a profession, but as a way of seeing and shaping the world for each other.
On humanity and problem solving:
As we closed the event I had a chance to connect with an aspiring NASA scientist- he appreciated hearing the ways I applied design in my life and how I’d used it to help resolve an argument with my wife Grace and shared the story about it. He said he could see how it could help him in his relationship and also saw the applicability in solving all kinds of problems, even the kind he hopes to negotiate in his future work.
While there were a few hundred people in the audience, it’s the stories people share about how the message made an impact and what it means to them that will always matter more to me.
As the talk goes online in the future, I’m hopeful that it will start important conversations in all parts of life and that it might be a resource for people as they navigate the uncertainty that surrounds us, and the choices that shape the world we live in together. I can’t possibly say the scale or scope of that impact, but I can’t wait to watch it develop in the months ahead.
It was inspiring to see the way the messages of this year’s speakers threaded between one another: the tension of humanity, curiosity, possibility, and the norms and expectations we hold for ourselves and one another were spread throughout each talk to create a powerful tapestry for attendees to draw from.
There were so many people part of the experience in big and small ways.
Talking about the ideas I’d include, reacting to early drafts, encouraging my preparation, or coaching on the content and delivery. Atia, Spencer, Kristen, Annie, Michèle, Lauren, Andrew, Scott, Jan— Thank you. 🙏
If you’ve been reading for a while, you know how special Grace is to me and how influential she is in my work. From coordinating a surprise visit from my Mom to supporting meetings with my coach, getting the word out about my talk to organize support and celebrations (and generally showing how proud of me she is), the experience just wouldn’t have been the same without her fingerprints on it. I’m so grateful to have her in my life.
The TEDxUCSD team did so many things to make the experience a memorable one and showed so much resilience and flexibility in the stories in the details that will never make headlines. Thank you for the opportunity to work with you!
What’s next and the question on everyone’s mind:
I hope I’ll be sharing this message for a long time. I’ve got a few chances over the summer already and I look forward to sharing more here soon.
The TEDXUCSD team will edit talks for speaker review in the coming weeks and then they’re off to TED for final approval to post on YouTube, which might take some time.
Subscribe and I’ll make sure you get the update when the talk is live!
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In learning,
Thank you for being part of this community of over 1,500 curious, creative, changemakers who believe we can improve the student experience through design.
Brian LeDuc is the founder of Learning, Designed, where he serves as a design strategist partnering with learning organizations to improve the learner experience and drive change co-designed with students, educators, communities, and employers.
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