It’s true that most endeavors are not successful on the first attempt. I’m currently enjoying (a.k.a. “downing”) my 3rd cup of Starbucks coffee this morning due to the fact that Little Guy decided that last night would be the best time to explore what 3:00 AM to 5:30 AM looked like. . . and by “explore” I mean “scream at”.
My wife and I took turns heading into the battlefield, kind of giving each other a nod to say “good luck in there” as we sleepily passed each other in the hallway outside his door. “Don’t pick him up”, the Doctor warned us. “Comfort him, let him know he’s not alone, but do not pick him up.” That lasts about an hour. Maybe I should give the Doc’s house a call at 4:00 AM and see what he thinks then. . .
Rocking, humming, patting, comforting, changing, checking the room temperature. . . endless attempts to make it right, and 2 hours into it, the simple statement, “Maybe he’s hungry” changed everything. 1 bottle, 20 minutes later and the universe had righted itself.
How could we be so ignorant? JUST THIS WEEK we had visited the Doctor and relayed to him the increasing instances of interrupted sleep. “Maybe he’s hungry”, he said. Maybe we should have written that down.
The whole process is not too dissimilar from solving a design problem (including the coffee requirements and, sometimes, the time on the clock). It’s great to claim to have all of the answers to every question, the solutions to every problem, and the perfect design for every project. There’s this stereotypical image of an Architect (bow tie optional) that involves a controlled process of very smartly applying lines to paper in a perfect manner in order to solve an overly complicated problem. “I think this will work for you”, is muttered as the sheet is handed over to the client. Light pours off the page and illuminates the face of the bewildered and amazed recipient of the drawing. . . . it’s perfect.
Not the case.
In fact, more often than not, the design process is a chaotic and haphazard one. What about this? No, maybe THIS!? Wait a second. . . try this. In most cases, the sketch that “works” ends up causing all sorts of havoc when you actually try to make it work. Move this. Slide that. Make that bigger. No, too big. It all sometimes ends in frustration. You’ve just spent all of this time working this out and you’re at the same place that you started. Not true. You now know what doesn’t work. . . and that can be the most important information you can have.
“Maybe he’s hungry”. New direction. Fresh start. Successful results. But everything before that didn’t work gets mentally filed away for next time. . . . maybe for 3:00 AM.
Architecture/Design products:
I recently purchased these blocks made by Elegant Baby. So far they’re a success. I’m always looking for something for Little Guy to build with or stack. . . or bang together. These work well and have a classic feel mixed with a modern touch of graphics.
Design a Dad 