Rotman Excellence in Teaching Award
I taught Principles of Marketing in 2007 and in 2009, and thanks to my students’ generous evaluation, I received the teaching award in both classes. This taught me the value of ”following my own voice” rather than “listening to others’ voices.”
While I taught the courses, I often looked back on my undergraduate days. I did what I liked and I avoided what I hated about my teachers when I was a student. Although I did not completely ignore “the voice of my students,” I placed greater weight on my own reflection.
I wonder if designers may, sometimes, follow their own thoughts rather than what they believe consumers want. Recently, Don Norman posted an interesting article on his blog about this issue. If this conflict exists in designers’ mind, I wonder how designers resolve the conflict between their inner voice and consumers’ voices. For instance, although no one explicitly wants 3D-TV, a cone-shaped kettle, and or an ergonomic chair, designers at Samsung, Alessi, and Herman Miller made them.
