We Are All Designers Now—or Must Learn To Be

By Author: ELSIE
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Anthropologist: We must all develop the ability to understand not only our own but also others' cultures as we encounter them within the classroom, the world, and the texts we study; this means developing the ability to observe, examine, and communicate insights about these cultures, for such skills are Tag Heuer Replica fundamental to our personal and economic success. People have spoken often of President Obama and the extent to which the influence of his anthropologist mother contributes to his ability to understand and communicate with people from various backgrounds in different situations.

Reporter: Everyone today must be able to search for, locate, evaluate, and analyze a remarkable amount of data from different sources; in this context, we must develop and continually refine our ability to investigate, research, and navigate through the ever-increasing sea of information available to us all. Once we have done all this investigating, it is time to convey the results; thus, we must be able to understand and sift through and effectively communicate insights ...
... from these investigations of people, places, ideas, process, or texts in the most appropriate form and format, which may involve traditional genres of written discourse but may also include mixed media, audio, or video depending on the context and purpose.

Critic: Whether it is a literary or informational text; a written, multimedia, or visual text; a commercial or personal text, we all need the skills critics use to evaluate and analyze a text. Indeed, such critical skills are fundamental to success in both professional and personal realms as we are increasingly expected to navigate the commercial, political, and financial waters ourselves. Whereas the critical mind once had to focus on what it thought about books and film, now it must also train itself to examine retirement plans, medical options, and competing products and services. Naturally, as with all critics, we must also be able to formulate and express our opinions about the subjects we critique, offering insights about the given literary or other text we have considered.

Designer: Design is such a crucial aspect of any text—on paper, online, or in the physical world—we need to know how to "read" for it, noticing the features used to invest the text with meaning. People even speak of "designing experiences," which means that the tablecloths and arrangement of the room are Breitling Replica Watches designed with some intention in mind, which the critical designer's eye will notice and understand. So, too, must we consider design when we compose documents, create online content, produce videos, or otherwise communicate with people, taking into consideration not only the means and media but also the available features and functions of every element? Communication, whether received or created, is too important to leave it to chance; we are all designers now—or must learn to be.