Designing for the world we yearn for

I found an inspiring essay by Adaptive Path experience designer Paula Wellings. Worth a read, especially if you tend to lean towards idealism.

As part of our experience design practice, what might happen when we take time to consider both the specificity of existing environments and to imagine, invent, and describe future real worlds that people yearn to inhabit?

Inventing a world creates a possibility space aligned with the kinds of environments people want to inhabit, as opposed to the worlds they currently live in. The world description brings value to designers and clients as a method and as a metric for considering if our isolated designs for interfaces, products, services, and devices have a coherent, integrated part to play in an optimal environment for desired experiences.