Design can change the way you see the world | Dana Tomić Hughes | TEDxSydney

Summary

In this inspiring talk, designer Dana shares her journey from a refugee in Yugoslavia to a passionate advocate for design. She explores how design shapes our everyday lives, from humble objects to transformative spaces, and emphasizes its role in reconnecting us with nature, fostering healing, and leaving lasting legacies. Dana highlights the importance of seeing beyond aesthetics to appreciate design’s deeper value, including sustainability, innovation, and cultural context. By engaging thoughtfully with design, she argues, we can cultivate personal connections, enrich our experiences, and even change the way we perceive and interact with the world around us.

Takeaways

• 🦄 Design is everywhere, from everyday objects to complex structures, and it engages all our senses, enriching our lives.
• 🌍 Design is for everyone and is essential in improving daily life, shaping how we interact with our surroundings.
• 👩‍🎨 Personal experiences and cultural exposure shape our understanding and appreciation of design over time.
• 🎨 Good design can be witty, playful, and approachable, making it relatable even to those initially unfamiliar with it.
• ✈️ Experiencing design firsthand, as in Dana's return to Copenhagen, enhances recognition and appreciation of aesthetic and functional qualities.
• 🌱 Design should consider sustainability, social impact, and ethical production, much like how we evaluate the food we consume.
• 🏡 Design transforms ordinary spaces into meaningful, poetic, or functional experiences that resonate with personal values.
• 🖼️ Focusing only on design images limits understanding; true design encompasses deeper layers such as innovation, context, and purpose.
• 💖 Authentic design pieces provide longevity, quality, and emotional connection, whereas cheap replicas often fall short and harm the environment.
• 🛠️ Engaging consciously with design over time fosters a lifelong relationship, making it a process that evolves alongside our values and experiences.
• 🌿 Design can reconnect people with nature, evoke healing, celebrate unique tastes, and preserve legacies through thoughtful, intentional creation.
• 📱 Rapid image culture challenges design appreciation, making mindful engagement crucial to truly understanding and valuing good design.

Q & A

Who is Dana and what is her connection to design?

Dana is a designer and editor who researches and engages with design daily. Her personal journey from being a refugee to becoming a designer shaped her perspective on design's accessibility and impact.

How did Dana's early life experiences influence her perception of design?

Growing up as a refugee from Yugoslavia, Dana faced survival challenges that made it difficult for her to engage with beauty and design. Her early experiences caused her to see design as inaccessible and unrelatable.

What role did her return to Copenhagen play in her understanding of design?

Returning to Copenhagen 20 years after leaving as a refugee, Dana was able to fully immerse herself in the city's design culture, recognizing its beauty, innovation, and the embedded design thinking in daily life, which deepened her appreciation for design.

How does Dana compare design to food?

Dana compares design to food, highlighting that both are essential, accessible at different price points, and available in various forms—from DIY solutions to luxury experiences—emphasizing that design, like food, can be simple or sophisticated.

What does Dana say about the ethical and sustainable aspects of design?

She emphasizes that knowing the provenance, sustainability, and ethical production of design is important. Authentic design pieces can become heirlooms, while cheap replicas may harm the environment and lack quality and longevity.

How does Dana define good or great design?

Good design is more than just aesthetics; it combines vision, functionality, sustainability, social impact, and responsiveness to context. Great design connects with people’s values and enhances everyday life.

Can you give examples from the transcript of design connecting with nature or bringing healing?

Yes. The French farmhouse renovation preserves outdoor spaces to accommodate nature, reconnecting inhabitants with the environment. The Copenhagen clinic uses immersive design to address grief, promoting reflection, healing, and emotional engagement.

Why does Dana caution against reducing design to images?

Dana explains that images only capture aesthetics, which limits understanding. True design involves multiple layers like sustainability, innovation, and social impact, which require deeper engagement beyond surface visuals.

What does Dana mean when she says design is a relationship?

Dana believes design is an iterative, evolving process that develops over a lifetime. It responds to personal values, goals, and experiences, rather than being a trend, style, or simply a visual object.

How does rapid image culture affect people’s perception of design?

Rapid image culture floods audiences with content, often shaped by algorithms, which encourages superficial engagement. This makes it harder to appreciate the deeper aspects of design, limiting understanding to visual appeal alone.

What are some examples of embracing questionable taste or humble design?

In Italy, Marcante Testa transformed a home by incorporating elements considered tacky or plain, creating joyful nostalgia. In New South Wales, Andrew Power used proportion and spatial arrangement to elevate a modest home, demonstrating that design can be subtle and unpretentious.

How does Dana link privilege and responsibility to experiencing beauty and design?

Dana notes that seeing and appreciating beauty is a gift and a privilege, especially after surviving hardship. With this privilege comes responsibility to engage consciously and ethically with design.