Sigit Adinugroho

January 8, 2012

Creating Meaning

filed in:
Ethics

Most of designers, or makers of things in general, think and work on projects that "provide financial returns" as quickly as possible. While this is a true and valid endeavour to work hard in, sometimes (and through this post, I'm trying to ask us to get more of this) we need to find the right problems to solve.

While designers work to feed themselves, they should also pay attention to select projects that see the right problems instead of the right money. Instead of working on the next startup idea that provides the most obvious channels for revenue stream, why don't we identify the most obvious, most important problems that the product will solve?

Instead of creating another deal-based startups, why not promote responsible consumption? Instead of doing another location-based app that is looking forward to brand's business pages that nobody cares, why not shift this into something that is promoting local tourism? Instead of another online store that sells "everything-under-the-sun", why not specialise in one or two lines or brands of products, or better yet, locally-produced ones? Instead of fussing about which platform to develop in, why not take one or none at all?

And this is the best of all: instead of taking inspirations of success from overseas products and copying it almost back-to-back, why not solve specific problems?

June 19, 2011

In Search of Perfection

filed in:
Ethics

"It's better to finish 3rd but with three dollars in hand than to finish first but having to spend three dollars and have nothing left."

That quote passed by a friend of mine could apply to most of our efforts today. We search for perfection endlessly that we forget what it takes to have things perfectly: meticulous attention to details and process. All we care is the finished product, the finish line. All we care is to be number one, and get the most cash.

I am highly disappointed by most Indonesian startups or businesses that emphasize nothing less than monetizations, revenue streams, lavish launch and being winners of competitions. Looking closely inside their products, I find lack of attention to details.

Don't get me wrong, there is a fine line between half-finished products and staged releases. Half-finished products will always be wrong in any stage. Staged releases involve wrapping up and perfection in every stage. Every stage is a finished product, no matter what the roadmap is.

I'd rather see a perfect, polished product with half the features of a complete but flawed product.

True, we have to create products that actually sell, but that doesn't mean the have to force it to sell. Good products that seem to naturally sell will not sell automatically, if there is no effort to do so. In better luck, the product will sell itself. However, the most important is the quality and perfection of the product, in any development stage.

So, here's my idea for a startup or any effort in that sense: start small, humble, find perfection in every stage, and care less about monetizing it or accumulating backfiring hypes at the first place. Take your time and don't just get along with climbing the popularity ladder without knowing what you do.

March 13, 2011

On Taste & Finishing Things

filed in:
Ethics

"When you don't create, you become defined by your tastes rather than ability. Your tastes only narrow and exclude people. So create." —_why

Have you ever been defined by a taste? Or perhaps, have you been judged for your taste? When we were in high school this probably was the only thing to recognize someone else. We had to develop certain tastes, to be able to mingle with some groups: clothing, music, sports, and probably dozens of other cultural products. Hardly were we judged with our ability to produce or create. It's probably fair for high school. But not when we grow up.

How many of us are merely using rather than creating? We make selections on consumer products endlessly almost on a daily basis. The taxi we take, the clothes we buy, the food we pick for lunch, the way we relax and enjoy our evenings, the gadgets we purchase. We make a gradual loyalty to certain products, certain brands, and certain lifestyle. It's not necessarily one brand, it could be a series of brands as long as they belong to the same lifestyle. However, the point in this is one: we never really made those products. We only paid for the services or items. We didn't even think about those particular ideas proposed by the products we use. We were sold to some ideas the manufacturers (or the advertising agencies) proposed to us. Sometimes, we didn't even know we needed a product. These ideas that we have sold ourselves into would accumulate and evolve into normalcy. They become our needs. They become what we are. They become a taste, a certain quality we are after for. They define us.

It is hard to return to a lower "taste". Once we are accustomed to one level of taste, we're more likely to go up rather than down. It probably takes years or a drastic change of work & life environment to shift this idealism.

What defines taste, then? Many things. Who we are, what we are, what we do for a living, where we live, who we meet, what we eat, how we are told to do and face problems. It is never the same for every individual, even when they live in the same household. We are raised based on the ideals set forth by our parents, and to some extent, our closest friends. When we grow up, we become even more defined by our job(s), the people we frequent and the ideas we submit ourselves into.

Then, we do collisions of ideas and tastes. We fight, we speak up against others'. Sometimes, we don't even realise we are too self-centric, or too submissive to whatever our ideas are we don't care or despise what others prefer.

We live in a multi-cultured, multi-perspective world and one idea could be entirely different to another, while some would be related to some others. There is no single answer to everything, there is no one way to do everything. The only aggressive way to force an idea into someone else's mind is probably to create something and implant the concept you bring into someone else's minds. Merely evolving your ideas into taste, and trying to sell that to someone else, will just result in rejections and doubts.

So, do and finish things. Yes, so create. Write. Code. Draw. Take photographs. Make a product and sell. And, be consistent.