The Impact of Language. For
brands and new market innova-
tion, words have become increas-
ingly important. As concepts
and ideas get more complex and
the marketplace becomes more
saturated, tone, voice, and lan-
guage are quickly becoming key
differentiators in the cluttered
world. Overwhelmed consumers
are gravitating toward products
that resonate emotionally or
can accurately and effectively
communicate the reasons to
believe in their offering—ignoring
those that don’t. Therefore, for
any answer to any opportunity,
semantics are a vital component
of the process. Definitions have to
be descriptive of the precise posi-
tion and intent of the solution but
must also have a tone that meets
the consumer on their level. If it
misses, it will be ignored.
Language should be argued
to seek out the most appropri-
ate terms for a concept. The
disagreement and dialogue will
either result in the assignment
of a term, removal because it is
deemed inferior or coopted, or the
invention of an entirely new term.
As a constant, language should
be considered, assessed, defined,
refined, and rejected across all
levels of the problem; it should
also be governed by and with the
same rigor as the problem defini-
tion process. Collaborators should
drive out the unique to build a
vernacular that is differentiated,
protectable, and that resonates
with the audience it is intended
to serve.
Emotion and Egolessness. There
exists an interesting dichotomy in
the mind of the designer. Armed
with empathy and experience,
designers are capable of getting
into the heads and hearts of
users to uncover the motivating
values for a product or activity.
Over time, experience allows
the designer to gain confidence
and make the right choices that
lead to a quicker or better result.
With the increase in confidence,
ego can often follow. While con-
fidence through experience is an
important and useful trait for
designers, ego can make collabo-
ration difficult. Part of the shared
understanding in a project group
is that everyone on the collabora-
tion team is a peer respected for
their opinions and experiences.
The influence of ego in a group
changes the dynamic, moving
focus away from the project and
removing the fluidity of team
thought. Though it is a fine line
to walk, designers need to be
confident enough to believe in the
value they bring without reaching
the level of ego.
As it pertains to projects
and tasks themselves, emotion
derived from confidence and
interest in the subject lead to pas-