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Design in the age of entanglement - The Intercom Blog
Summary
The post argues that product design has entered a fourth era, the age of entanglement, following three earlier phases: augmentation, the PC era, and the web era. The author claims that three overlapping technology trends that made innovation predictable are ending, creating uncertainty. Designers now face a complex web of interconnected ideas, technologies, and systems that no single person can fully grasp. The post advises designers to think in systems, build one thing at a time from the center outward, and observe and iterate based on real-world reactions. It suggests that this uncertainty may be a return to a more natural state, where technology takes its rightfully uncertain place in the world.
Context
The post argues that product design is entering a fourth era, the “age of entanglement,” following three earlier phases: augmentation (1968 mother of all demos), the PC era (1984 Macintosh), and the web era (1994 Mosaic). The author claims that three overlapping technology trends that made innovation predictable are ending, creating uncertainty. Designers now face a complex web of interconnected ideas, technologies, and systems. The post suggests that designers should embrace this complexity by thinking in systems, building one thing at a time from the center outward, and observing and iterating based on real-world reactions.
Takeaways
The post identifies four eras of personal computing: augmentation (1968), the PC era (1984), the web era (1994), and the current age of entanglement.
Three overlapping technology trends that made innovation predictable are ending, leading to a period of uncertainty for product designers.
The post advises designers to think in systems, build one thing at a time from the center outward, and iterate based on real-world observations.
FAQ
What are the four eras of personal computing the post describes?
The post identifies three earlier eras: the age of augmentation (starting with Engelbart's 1968 demo), the PC era (starting with the 1984 Macintosh), and the web era (starting with the 1994 Mosaic browser). The current era is the age of entanglement.
What practical advice does the post give for designing in the age of entanglement?
The post advises designers to think in systems by mapping the objects in their product and the connections between them, to build one thing at a time starting from the center and adding layers outward, and to observe how each new layer affects the world and be willing to iterate in unexpected directions.
Source and freshness
- Source
- intercom.com
- Published
- Added to Yomu
Summaries are generated from the original by a language model. Check the original before relying on it.
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