Designing for a Global Culture

The lines humanity has drawn in the dirt that we call borders are vanishing! The need to learn about and respect the differences in all cultures is central to our professional development and acceptance of deliverables. We are no longer designing for our boss or the corporation. Our focus should be on creating experiences that demonstrate the values others hold dear - especially those that may differ from our own fundamental beliefs. This very much includes what we frame as being “good” design, or what is ethically correct in the eyes of our collective global audience. A daunting challenge perhaps, but one that reveals benefits that exceed traditional measures allowing for the creation of ubiquitous designs for people - not machines.

Sharing personal and professional experiences from his own work with people from South Africa, Jamaica, the Ivory Coast, France, Korea, Brazil, Canada, and the United States - in addition to Fortune 500 business leaders the world over - Jeff will share the latest in Neurological research that binds us across all cultures, along with conversations he’s lead with thought leaders over the past five years, and how humility and the desire to continue learning from a variety of resources will result in gaining buy-in with decision makers in any corporation.

Drawing on over a decade of experience in the health care services working with kids in gangs, pre-kindergarten children with learning disabilities, and adults with acquired brain injuries - in addition to leading conversations through podcasts with thought leaders in IA, IxD, UX, and HCI over the past five years - Jeff Parks will share a series of stories drawing on his own professional experiences in design and mentoring that shift the conversation from “Defining The Damn Thing” to the essence of every successful design - people.

Transcript

1. 2012 Polish IA Summit Closing Keynote “Designing for a Global Culture”
2. “I pronounce it ‘about’ not ‘a-boot’... I can proudly sew my country’s flag on my backpack... A chesterfield is a couch... Canada is the first nation of hockey, the second largest land mass and the best part of North America!” I Am Canadian - Molson Canadian Commercial
3. “I grew up in Canada...Whenever I told my friends down in Los Angeles where I came from I always got the same response: Canada! Wow! Must have been cold!” Jim Carrey Actor and Comedian
4. 2010 Interaction Design Conference ‘Design Research’ http://theuxworkshop.tv/design-research-discussion-ixd10/
5. “Community - across cultures - is about trust and respect of other people, their ideas, and values.” Jeff Parks - Polish IA Summit Werner Purchert South Africa Afshan Kirmani India Jan Jursa Germany
6. “Your experiences in life determine your perspective. It is that unique perspective that ultimately determines your reality in any given circumstance.” MCT Program CogniLore
8. “Boring environments, stressful noises, and the primate’s particular slot in the dominance hierarchy all shape the architecture of the brain...Poverty and stress aren’t just an idea, they are an anatomy. Some brains never have a chance!” Dr. Elizabeth Gould Neurologist
9. “I wanted to come to Canada to study... but the Government required my banking information. The banks in the Ivory Coast - my homeland - were all destroyed due to the violence in my country.” Listening Lab at University of Ottawa
11. “When the water flows through the eyes of the statue it represents the sorrow of the community and the young souls who have been lost due to inner city violence over the years.” Old Kingston, Jamaica
12. “The passion of the Jamaican people to learn and make a stronger community for future generations is like no other culture I’ve experienced...Their creative insights are simply phenomenal.” Jeff Parks - Workshops on Information Architecture
13. “If you aren’t familiar with all stakeholders involved, you have the potential to create myth and in this context, myth can perpetuate ineffective responses to those on the periphery.” Research by Kara Pecknold, University of British Columbia, Ministry of Health and UNICEF
16. “I think the number is like 77% of the world’s consumption is now in developing markets.” Jim McNerney - Chairman, President, and CEO The Boeing Company
17. “It has become very apparent in the last 12 to 18 months demand is now coming from countries that were traditionally producers.” Dr. Victor Fung - Group Chairman, Li & Fung Group
18. “The miracle of the mind isn’t that you can see the world as it is... It’s that you can see the world as it isn’t!” Kathryn Schulz TED March 2011
19. “Technology is a glittering lure but there’s the rare occasion when the public can be engaged at a level beyond flash - if they have a sentimental bond with the product.” Mad Men - The Carousel
20. “The conductor doesn’t make a sound - he depends for his power on this ability to make other people powerful...I realized my job was to awaken possibility in other people!” “Who am I being that my players eyes are not shining?” Benjamin Zander - TED
21. “We’re very good with Heart Attacks. We’re very bad with Cancer.” Dr. Fareed Zakaria Time, CNN
22. “We need to shift the conversation from what we ‘could’ be doing to what we ‘should’ be doing!” Richard Seymour
23. “Everyone wants to feel like what they are doing is of value and that they are valued in the process” Mike Parks - DuPont
24. Create an Empathic Corporate Culture Sense of Value Everyone experiences a sense of individuality and self-expression There is a capacity to express compassion to develop close relationships A way of reacting with spontaneity, integrity, and integration exists. There is a drive towards actions, self-expression and creative experiences. There is an ability to reason and exchange ideas with others.
25. “What do you want to do? ...And that question cleared the space - there was no program directive, no manual to follow. I endeavoured to clear such a space - an empty space - to make meaning out of their own understanding.” John Hunter - TED
26. Dziękuję!