I want to talk about making things (please don’t think less of me)

Great men talk about ideas
Mediocre men talk about things
Small men talk about people.*

If people who talk about things can be seen as mediocre, how should we think about ourselves as designers—perceived by many, including many of us, as the makers of things?

From my experience, making things—expressing design in tangible form—seems to resonate profoundly with many of my peers (and, I will say, a great deal with me). Producing an artifact—its form, finish, and facade—is a magical experience. (Is it like “giving birth” as I’ve heard many say?) As designers, however, we do and offer much more to our clients: analysis, synthesis, imagination, ideation, and the ability to reframe and solve problems in a way that other professionals are only just now recognizing and adopting.

As a friend of mine likes to say, “Design is a big tent.” As designers we not only make things (the “what”), we’re also engaged with ideas (the “why”) and people (the “who”). Despite what the above quote says greatness can only come from being concerned with all three. I’m inclined to feel that if we are to be successful, designers must connect and value ideas and relationships with the same curiosity and interest we do our creations.

Making things provides great satisfaction to the creator; and bringing beauty into the world is undeniably important to both our individual and collective souls. But there’s more for us to do as designers. So, whenever I can’t get enough of something I’ve made and need to get over myself, I remember this from George Carlin:

“Ever notice how other people’s stuff is sh*t, and your sh*t is stuff?”

Feel free to tell us your thoughts about and relationship to making things in the comments.

*This quote has a number of variations and no definitive author.