When talking about different aspects of design I often mention
the word context. However, I realize I don’t always talk about
the importance of that word and why we should always be thinking
about the context within which we work. Today I want to correct
that and offer some thoughts about context. It’s All Relative
The world seldom works in absolutes and that’s particularly true
with things like design where a measure of creativity is
involved. We know or should know that there’s never a single
answer to a design problem. We seek the best solution, but there
are often multiple best solutions. What’s best is relative to
the specific problem. It’s not just design. - The earth is
spinning and moving through space at incredible speeds. We don’t
feel it, because relative to the earth we’re barely moving. The
earth is our context. - Politicians speak in sound bites. We
often receive bits of text or speech taken out of context.
Without context the words take on completely a different meaning
and politicians often qu