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Anyone see Jim Dawton's piece in Design Week the other day about how product designers need to 'raise their game'?



UK designers are, apparently, 'like our national football teams: in danger of being left behind - of being overconfident and overpaid.'



I’m about as fond of a football metaphor as I am of people who seem to think that Jonathan Ive and Seymour Powell are the only living product designers… but Dawton makes a number of other points, including the assertion: ‘I need people who can design, not people who can talk about it.’ Do we agree?



You can read the whole piece here

http://www.designweek.co.uk/Articles/137191/Time+to+raise+our+game+in+2008.html

Last edited by Moderator on 24 Jan 2008 15:51

I think there's a good chance Dawton is not far off the mark; his comments are very similar to thoughts I've expressed to colleagues before, relating the national sports teams' performances to a possible wider national psychological problem.



I think the root may be a lack of hunger; desire and urgency about competing and performing at the top of the game. I don't speak of this detachedly; I feel it myself; an underlying feeling of entitlement to be able to relaxedly loll around absorbing abstract theoretical stimuli and fine bottled beer until inspiration strikes and half an hour's sketching results in £millions worth of genius intellectual property. I revolt at the thought of sweating over a problem for hours, and even build arguments in support of this feeling: 'one shouldn't stifle one's creativity', I assure myself.



I am aware of this, and am glad of another influencing factor; roots in hard-working trade-related endeavour, which does inspire a work-ethic that at least takes a place between the extremes. I am conscious that consistently excelling can not be effortless and am accordingly working hard at it.



This is my experience and feeling, for what it's worth,



with regards, Alan



www.ramsaydesign.co.uk

I've put off responding for far too long. [smile]



I'm no product designer , but I recognise obstacles to action and excuses for inaction when I see them, since I have used them all myself!



Designers block, writers block, salesman's block...we can all find reason for not doing something. There ARE things you can do about it, though and if you work for an employer who invests in personal devlopment, I may be able to suggest an answer.



John Marchant

In 20 years in design, I can't say i've ever met an overpaid a product designer. Can somebody point me in the right direction so I can pick up some tips?



Overconfident people - oh yes, plenty of them. But in an industry so ridiculously over-supplied by universities you've got to have a fair amount of confidence to get one foot on the ladder in the first place!