Unlocking ideas
On jamming and introspection
For Interaction Designers, a habit of deep observation leads to improvements in their prototyping skills. And vice versa, a habit of prototyping leads to better observation skills.
I.
For example, picture a guitarist composing a new song: Eyes closed while the mind is exploring different rhythms and melodies through the skill of the fingers dancing. The hands shift between previously learned chords, a hard earned technique that improved their capacity to unlock new ideas.
At the same time, there are many who enjoy creating music with the help of digital tools, without ever needing to touch a real musical instrument in the process. Because we don’t see their hands shifting between complex chords, would it be fair to say there’s no “skill” involved? Where in their process are ideas being unlocked?
My point of view is that, in both cases, jamming is the act of play that leads to unlocking ideas, regardless of whether they’re using a physical musical instrument, or a digital tool.
II.
For Interaction Designers we can paint a similar picture:
In order to explore ideas for new interactions, the “chords” to learn are made of variables, methods and functions: programming languages.
Now, a designer does not need to learn to code in order to prototype concepts. Specially these days in which many options out there offer “no coding required” as their selling point. No-code tools would be the equivalent to the ones that allow people who don’t know how to play a physical musical instrument, to make music either way.
But just as how guitarist are able to experience the flow of ideas being leveraged by the mind through their hands, a designer can scrutinize the feasibility of interactions through code.
There’s a similar sense of jamming when working with code, and getting into a flow state can lead the designer to unlock great ideas.
Debates of “should designers learn to code?” are a waste of time. Let’s be clear on this: an intermediate level of javascript will not get you far as a programmer, but it will greatly expand your skills and opportunities as a designer.
III.
A habit of introspection while jamming is key to observe the flow of ideas taking shape.
If learning to code helps, great. If having pen & paper is enough for you, that’s OK. But as a designer, make sure to take a moment to close your eyes and experience what’s going on in your head, some of the best solutions might end up buried for relying too much on software that does all of the thinking for you.
-JM