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Designing the self
Marie-Cécile Paccard
November 2nd, 2016
Define who you are and
embrace evolution
Photo : Samuel Zeller
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Photo : Samuel Zeller
there is usually a huge amount
of unseen work behind any
public performance or public
person: definition, rehearsal…
through this work, we shape
our public image.
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My name is
Marie-Cécile
I am a designer.
I give talks about
my job, I write, I
shape the world
into a better
place thanks to
design.
Photo : Thibault Paccard
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i worked for 1,5 years
to create Everything
you can see here.
I shaped every aspect of this
slide (text, typography, colours,
location and composition of
the picture, my posture, my
attitude, the choice of a
photographer…) to show you a
precise facet of me, with
selected connotations.
But why 1,5 years to do that?
Why so long?
Photo : Thibault Paccard
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The business
cards vertigo…
It all started with…
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one very common day, we face our
empty business cards box and figure
out we need new ones.
That’s when everything falls apart. « Maybe I
should take advantage of this situation and
change the design? I have moved on since then,
maybe I should change my job title? But then,
I’d have to change it on LinkedIn too, and on my
CV, and oh my, this CV is just so outdated…
Shivers are now running down my spine… Where
should I start? What should I say? Thousands of
questions now, WHO AM I? »
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right here.
Photo : Roxane Desgagnés
Right. We’re not there yet.
the sad thing is that
business cards are just
the very top of the visible
part of the iceberg.
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Photo : Roxane Desgagnés
That doesn’t tell us which colour
to pick for those damn cards.
This is the question I want to
address today: what should we
do to reach the iceberg (our
shiny new business cards) from
the tiny ice plate we are
standing on?
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« One cannot
not communicate. »
Paul Watzlawick :
Photo : Adrian Owen
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Photo : Adrian Owen
our communication is far from being
limited to our business cards:
Everything we say (or don’t say), everything we do
(or don’t) carries a message. We communicate
through non verbal channels: our bodies, our
faces and even silence are communication.
How does that influence the way we express
ourselves and how we introduce who we are?
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Are we part of it
no matter what?
The World
Wide Web
Hubbub
Photo : Redd Angelo
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Photo : Redd Angelo
if we don’t come to the internet, it
comes to us, wether we are a
company or an individual,
private or not.
We may have an online identity and presence
that we are not aware of, even if we actively
decided not to have any.
Just check the Google results attached to your
name or company. Sometimes, some surprising
content may pop up…
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quick check
with my
name: the 1st
page results
are okay,
all the
content
here is mine.
wait, except
that picture.
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all this
content
about me
was
created
and
published
without me
being aware
of it.
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a lot of this not only doesn’t belong to
me, but I have no influence upon it…
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Take the
floor and
speak!
it means
actively
communicate on
who we are and
what we do.
Photo : Clem Onojeghuo
let’s change this and choose to
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it is much easier to speak up from
the moment we know who we are.
Okay. What to
say now?
Photo : Tachina Lee
quite a simple recipe:
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our deep
self
tastes, spirituality,
intuition, interests…
who we
aspire to be
goals, aspirations,
life plans…
Photo : Tachina Lee
Who are we?
two facets coexist:
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our deep
self
tastes, spirituality,
intuition, interests…
the way the
world sees us
Who are we?
two facets coexist:
who we
aspire to be
goals, aspirations,
life plans…
Photo : Tachina Lee
and there’s
even a 3rd one:
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How to know
who we are?
Photo : Tachina Lee
it takes some
deep research
work and some
design of the
self!
« who we are » is not obvious:
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« Design of
the self » ? marie guillaumet
introduced this
concept at Paris
Web 2015:
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Why designing
oneself?
Photo : Mike Wilson
Who we are is the outcome of circumstances that are
often out of our hands: education, background, life
path, relatives and friends, and lots of coincidences.
People as well as companies end up being shaped by
those unwanted parameters.
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If we don’t design the
self, others will do it
for us.
Photo : Mike Wilson
Why designing
oneself?
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Design ?
before we carry on,
let’s clarify one
thing about the word
« design ».
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Design?
industrial
design
graphic
design
This word is often used when
it should not, just to designate
the surface of things:
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Design!
• Design is the very act
of conceiving
something to answer
a need or solve a
problem.
• Design puts things at
their right place,
where they should be
to function well.
« Design is not
just what it
looks like and
feels like. Design
is how it works. »
Photo : Stanford University archives
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the
thank you!
This was
the
Steve
Jobs
minute
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• Define our
values, and
make sure
we are at
ease with
them,
• Dare to use
them for
decision
making rather
than relying
on random
interests,
• Take the
space we
need to be
ourselves,
inline with
who we are
deep within.
Designing oneself
in 3 steps:
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BE ONESELF
Photo : Swaraj Tiwari
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This concept is important for me. Why spend time
and energy through a design process if we don’t do it
with a deep acknowledgement of who we are within
and if we don’t honour this work every day by living
by our values without giving up to fear?
Photo : Swaraj Tiwari
BE ONESELF
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Today’s world does not help us
to be who we are…
Photo : Michael Lokner
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Photo : Michael Lokner
Think about your last job interview. I’m sure that you
were asked to prove your experience and skills, maybe
even your know-how.
But what about all the other aspects of your
personality or skills you have outside of your job title?
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knowledge
skills
Ambitions
interests
Passions
values
humane
skills
soft
skills
know-how
needs
empathy
experience
Me
intuition
rational
spiritual
emotions
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skills
Ambitions
knowledge
interests
Passions
values
humane
skills
soft
skills
know-how
needs
empathy
experience
Me
intuition
rational
spiritual
emotions
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Photo : Michael Lokner
There are so many facets that could be used and
promoted in our jobs: humane skills, intuition and
empathy are absolutely crucial to perform most of
them. Organisations would benefit from so much more
if they took our ambitions and interests into account.
By ignoring them, we forbid ourselves to develop a
part of who we are that could flourish in our lives as
well as in our companies.
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what do we
promote in
ourselves?
How do we
want to
be seen?
How to design
the self?
who do we
want to
become?
Photo : Tachina Lee
back to the main plot:
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through self
research, develop
a drive towards a
reality that
corresponds to
who we are and
in which we
communicate more
freely.
Design
the self
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Organisations are
concerned too!
Design
the self
through self
research, develop
a drive towards a
reality that
corresponds to
who we are and
in which we
communicate more
freely.
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where are you today?
Photo : Kyle Anderson
If you take a step back and
look at how you
communicate today, what
would you change?
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my goals
my skills
my experience
my ambitions
my values
my life path
my portfolio
Don’t go head
first and do it
all at once!
my cv
my motivations
Moi
my business cards
Photo : Annie Spratt
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Photo : Sandis Helvigs
Let’s start with a solid base, then
climb one step after the other.
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My values
who I am, how I do things, my presence to the world
My purpose
what motivates my actions, how I change the world
My goals and means
my tools and what I choose to work on
My communication
how I choose to carry my message
Photo : Sandis Helvigs
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Photo : Sandis Helvigs
This method is based on my personal experience and
in no way meant to be empirical. It is just, according to
me, a good way to proceed with the most important,
then narrowing down and easing each coming step.
It’s easy to change the surface with good
foundations on which we can rely to.
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What’s important
for you in your
life? are there
concepts that you
carry with you?
what are the
humane values you
believe in?
1 My values
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Values that shine bright
Designing the self is a topic that should be of interest
to companies as much as to individuals. I picked the
following examples throughout organisations which
defined their values and showcase them proudly.
« A humane company is fair in what it is
and what it does. »
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Values that shine bright
don’t you think?
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Values that shine bright
don’t you think?
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Values that shine bright
don’t you think?
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Values that shine bright
don’t you think?
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what makes you
come alive?
are there issues you
want to turn into
challenges?
how will you solve
them differently?
1 My values
2 My purpose
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Purpose
In his book « Reinventing organizations », Frédéric
Laloux talks about the concept of purpose for a
company or an organisation.
It is much more than a positioning or a commitment.
A purpose is the backbone to any organisation or
project and substantiates its existence and actions.
Photo : Swaraj Tiwari
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What the world needs
What is special
about you
Purpose
sarah morris
(wolff olins) :
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Proactively question yourself
about what the world really needs
And it is NOT
a jacket that
inflates with
the likes you
get on
Facebook.
No.
Courtesy of Mike Monteiro
https:/
/www.youtube.com/
watch?v=WPU5jNP2BH0
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Effectuation: what
do you have at your
disposal, what
goals can you
guess from it?
what are
your specific
skills?
how to action them
to honour your
purpose and values?
1 My values
My purpose (evolutionary)
2
3 My goal(s)
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My purpose
and goal
Make the world a better and nicer place, feel useful,
drive meaningful projects, get a sense of belonging
from it, all in respect of my integrity,
ethics and well-being,
and never at my own expense.
Photo : Thanh NGuyen
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learn more:
This tool helps me to take better decisions on a daily
basis and reminds me of my purpose as a
professional and my values as a human being.
I wrote a piece on
Medium (in French)
about the whole process
that drove me to write
my purpose and goal.
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They talk about their goals
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What is your tone
of voice?
how do you apply it
to your com tools?
how will you
communicate about
your purpose?
1 My values
2 My purpose (evolutionary)
3 My goal(s)
4 My communication
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Com tools
inventory!
back to your reality!
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Have a look at each of your communication tools: CV,
business card, website or portfolio, brochure, slides,
LinkedIn profile…
Start by asking yourself this straight-forward question :
« am I depreciating myself ? Are my pics flattering?
Are all my experiences worth mentioning? »
A lot of people undervalue themselves without being
aware of it. Innocent sentences, how they describe
their products or how they express themselves
negatively on social media for instance, bring a lot of
damage to their online image.
Your image and your products deserve the best you
can give them online :)
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A brand or a logo are not just
advertising or marketing.
They are the visual
translation of your values
and purpose.
What we
stand for how we
stand out
And don’t forget…
See the mess Mozilla has
started by asking the
community to pick a logo
design for them.
https:/
/blog.mozilla.org/
opendesign/now-for-the-
fun-part/
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Hire a
designer.
and if you need one,
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You cannot improvise yourself a designer.
Designers are professionals that use design
principles and communication codes to build a
visual rhetoric around your brand: do not
hesitate to hire one!
Sometimes designers themselves need help: I
did not hesitate to ask my peers for help in the
process to redesigning my portfolio. They were a
precious help in stepping back from the work I
was focusing on since months.
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Write your
manifesto!
let’s get our hands dirty
with a first move:
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They wrote a manifesto
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No content
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In July 2013, the agency in
which I was an employee
wanted to grow. I felt that
something fundamental
was missing to support
this process. I decided to
create a 10-rules
manifesto which would
formalise our purpose.
This tool was instrumental
and helped us throughout
the whole recruitment
process. The manifesto
was seen as a crucial
step taken into the
creation of the
company’s culture.
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And what
about you?
«
«
Photo : Jesse Stevenson
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My values drive how I practice design.
I strive for a better world through user
centered design.
Being a designer means having a very strong sense
of ethics.
• I design for human beings : any design project
has the same aim: being usable and being used.
• as much as possible, I choose the projects where I
invest my work in regards to their positive
influence upon the world.
• I advocate for good design practice rules with
my customers
• as much as possible, I push for a deep
collaboration between my customers and me, a
collaboration based on trust and the pursuit of
a common goal
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No content
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Photo : Andy Armstrong
But what if
we fail???
Failure is part of
the process:
embrace it!
Nothing is a failure.
Everything is a
reason to learn.
Fail again and again! That’s how we learn to iterate and
test hypotheses and assumptions. Let’s learn to
experiment and fail without judging ourselves so harshly.
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everybody fails.
Few talk about it.
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L’instant
Métaphore
Photo : Annie Spratt
Metaphore
And we pick which
plants will use the
available space.
Life is a garden.
Time!
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Choose wisely what
you make of your
time and energy.
if you don’t, others will
decide for you.
Photo : Annie Spratt
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…and some « gifts » from
life are not gifts at all!
Photo : Christian Grelard
you have the right
to dismiss them.
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…you can choose who
you don’t want to be.
if you don’t know who you are,
Photo : Annie Spratt
It is a first step towards what you like. Dismissing what
you don’t like creates more space for future things that
you will appreciate and will nurture you.
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If you’re clear about who
you want to be in any given
situation, non-negotiably,
the songs of the Sirens
aren’t so alluring. »
«
Photo : Mirada Vigerova
http://99u.com/articles/7086/a-master-plan-for-
taking-back-control-of-your-life/comment-page-3
tony schwartz
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Designing oneself is
not that easy…
and it asks for countless
time and lots of efforts…
Photo : Sarathy Salvamani
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And when we think
we’re done,
Photo : Sarathy Salvamani
we need to evolve to
keep up with the
ever-changing world!
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evolve…
(right, she’s just
been fooling us
since the beginning?)
Define oneself…
&
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Let’s integrate
change
in our very design process
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Evolving doesn’t mean
reinventing the wheel.
let’s welcome
change instead!
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What the world needs
What makes
you come alive
Purpose
« Stay aware and
dance with your
purpose. »
Make your purpose
evolutionary
Brian robertson
Fondateur d’Holacracy
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They evolved
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After a few years of existence, 37signals acknowledged
that their biggest product, Basecamp, had become
more than just a good seller. They decided to focus on
it only and they even renamed the company after it.
They evolved
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« Teehan+Lax was organized it in such a
way that scale was in conflict with
the values of the company.
«
They evolved
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Acknowledging that the company was losing sight of
its balance and purpose, Teehan+Lax decided to just
stop it. Their purpose was stronger than any
reputation or business goal.
They evolved
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They evolved
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French swimmer and athlete Florent Manaudou
recently announced his wish to give up swimming and
focus on another sport. A lot of people showed their
disappointment and got critical about his choice. But
maybe the Olympic champion wanted to freely explore
another facet of his life that looked more
fulfilling to him?
They evolved
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Photo : Utomo Hendra Saputra
It is important to put oneself into question and step
back from what we are doing, and do it often. I like to
call it « move organically! ».
Yoga teaches us to perform some moves that are just
enough not to be painful while making our muscles
stretch and improving our practice.
No need to be always on the move. Life is made of
peaks and plateaux, we just need to pay attention and
keep an eye on what naturally wants to emerge.
Move
organically!
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stay open to
opportunities
listen to our
instinct, our needs
move when all the
lights are green!
Photo : Utomo Hendra Saputra
Move
organically!
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Change is inevitable!
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Ten years ago, Facebook was just a small website
aiming to become famous. Today, we share more than
5 billion things on Facebook every single day!
Things change quickly, wether we like it or not.
Change is inevitable!
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« What if we stop trying
to force the future into
existence?
What if instead we simply
dance with what wants
to emerge? »
frédéric laloux
reinventing organizations
Photo : Pavan Gupta
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Homework:
Read those
books. Please.
(please please please.)
Illustrated version!
Pay what you feel right!
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Now which tools to use?
again, let’s clarify
something.
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Now which tools to use?
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I have no miracle recipe for you : it’s up to you to do
your own benchmark according to YOUR needs and
select what tools are best to fulfill them.
Of course, nothing is set in stone: if a tool doesn’t suit
you anymore, you can change it. The only important
thing is not letting your project be defined by the tools
you use just because you know them well.
Now which tools to use?
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Photo : Tamara Menzi
Changing something that works just for the novelty can
put your project in danger. Wait until you have walked a
few miles with a tool: it will help you to see where it
doesn’t work and what/where to change.
Don’t change for
the sake of change.
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Photo : Margarida Csilva
Set up a meeting
with yourself.
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Photo : Margarida Csilva
It can be every week, month or semester: pick your
own pace. Then take a moment to settle and look back
at the last timespan elapsed. Read your purpose and
manifesto again, ask yourself if you are still at ease with
them and if your latest actions reflect your values. If
something needs to be changed, you should see it by
now during those meetings with yourself.
Set up a meeting
with yourself.
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Photo : Alexander Dummer
Have FUN!
Ask yourself quirky questions: what did you enjoy doing
as a kid? What was your dream job/career? What
reasons did contribute to set them aside in the end?
Maybe you can change that today!
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Imagine yourself
and let yourself be scared :)
Photo : Rik Godwin
Make some little steps out of your comfort zone. Try to
« fake it till you make it » and go to this meeting as if
you were already the person you want to be in 1 year
time. It can really be worth it! (and sometimes a bit
scary too :D)
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Designing oneself is
refusing passivity.
Be on the lookout,
be active.
Defy status quo,
make conscious decisions!
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« We have the option to decide whether
or not we want to sit there and get
blasted in the face by all of this stuff
and continue to be overwhelmed and
inundated with technology and
decisions. Or we can figure out a way to
step away from the hose. »
Brad frost
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the secret lies within,
Photo : Kyle Anderson
in your ability to see
yourself
in a different way.
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Being oneself
never disappoints.
one thing for sure:
Photo : Marie Guillaumet - Morgane Hervé
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elle luna
The crossroads
of should and must
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Thanks!
Conception assistants and proof reading : Sara
Thom, Goulven Champenois, Florent Goumy, Julien
Fusco, Richard Godwin.
Special thanks : Blend Web Mix, Christelle Mozzati.
Photo credits : unsplash.com, authors names on
each picture used.
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« On ne peut pas ne pas communiquer »
http:/
/www.krauthammer.com/fr/
articles/on-ne-peut-pas-ne-pas-
communiquer
Valve - Company
http:/
/www.valvesoftware.com/company/
Valve - Our people
http:/
/www.valvesoftware.com/company/
people.html
The Co-Operative Group Values and
Principles
http:/
/www.coop.co.uk/corporate/
aboutus/the-co-operative-group-values-
and-principles/
Agile Collective’s Ethical Policy
http:/
/agile.coop/about-us/ethical-policy
Sarah Morris - UX and brand: a marriage
made in heaven
http:/
/www.wolffolins.com/views/
133067988383/ux-brand-a-marriage-
made-in-heaven
Sarah Morris - Interact London 15
https:/
/youtu.be/2wc4Eow38A8
Designer, où vas-tu ?
https:/
/medium.com/france/designer-o
%C3%B9-vas-tu-32009f863db2#.pfos8afqh
Design is a Job - Mike Monteiro
https:/
/abookapart.com/products/design-
is-a-job
Marie Guillaumet - Design de soi :
valoriser son identité et son expertise sur
le web
http:/
/marieguillaumet.com/design-de-
soi-paris-web-2015/
References
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Welleda
http:/
/www.weleda.co.uk/who-we-are/
who-we-are/page/who-we-are
Lego
https:/
/le-www-live-s.legocdn.com/sc/
media/files/marketing-tools/lego-
education-manifesto-
d218aa7fac50c89c1b307b8f1ab94b16.pdf
Creative Mornings
https:/
/creativemornings.com/manifesto
Wattage - Well, we failed
https:/
/medium.com/inside-wattage/
well-we-failed-77e795e16ecf#.qgqz7epb8
Teehan+Lax - And Now, For Our Next Act
http:/
/www.teehanlax.com/story/our-
next-act/
Frédéric Laloux - Reinventing
organizations
http:/
/reinventingorganizations.com
Brad Frost - I have no idea what I’m doing
http:/
/bradfrost.com/blog/post/i-have-
no-idea-what-the-hell-i-am-doing/
Elle Luna - The Crossroads of Should and
Must
https:/
/medium.com/@elleluna/the-
crossroads-of-should-and-
must-90c75eb7c5b0
Designer, où vas-tu ?
https:/
/medium.com/france/designer-o
%C3%B9-vas-tu-32009f863db2