UPDATE: Author and journalist Warren Berger to speak about his book Glimmer at Chappaqua Library

Berger comes to the Chappaqua Library this Wednesday, July 14
July 12, 2010
by Christine Yeres

Glimmer: How design can transform your life, and maybe even the world by Warren Berger, featuring the ideas and wisdom of design visionary Bruce Mau, has been out for six months now. It took local author and journalist Warren Berger two years to write the book, interviewing great designers from around the world while he watched them work. He will speak about Glimmer on Wednesday, July 14, at the Chappaqua Library at 7:30 p.m. 

“My whole purpose,” Berger explained, “was to find out what we can learn from designers.  People admire them, but rarely stop and think what it is they do, what their techniques are, and what’s applicable to the rest of us even if we’re not professional designers. In this revolution of do-it-yourself design, what can the do-it-yourselfers learn from them?”

Berger has found that not only have many readers been inspired by Glimmer’s message, but also that the design community itself has been very much behind the book. “I didn’t really write it for designers.  I wrote it for everyone else, but they’ve really appreciated having someone articulate what it is they do.” 

And articulate it well, as Berger did in the passage he read on Ben Cheever’s “About Writing” series for Pleasantville Community TV: 

“[D]esign is really a way of looking at the world with an eye toward improving it. To do that, a designer must be able to see not just what is but what might be.  And seeing is only the beginning.  Designers also are makers; they sketch and build, giving form to ideas.  They take that faint glimmer of possibility and make it visible and real to the rest of us.  The process that designers follow, which blends art and science and is fueled by human empathy, is arduous and at times heartbreaking.” 

Acquiring the habits of designers

“It’s a huge thing designers do,” Berger stressed. “They’re very curious, empathetic.  They question everything – which I really like – so, to me, although you can’t necessarily emulate genius, these are all very wonderful habits that we can all emulate.” 

Berger believes his work on Glimmer has changed him.  “It has taught me to visualize what I’m working on, as I’m working on it, by putting charts or outlines up on the wall. And by putting ideas side by side so that I can see how they relate to each other. This is something designers do a lot.”

His favorite design tool?  “The OXO potato peeler because it takes a mundane object, used for a thankless task, and somehow makes it pleasurable.”

Open invitation to share ideas at “GlimmerSite.com”

His book inspired him to create a website, GlimmerSite.com. “GlimmerSite offers an online gathering place for people interested in the topic of transformational design. If you’re not sure what that is, click around—you’ll find lots of provocative, inspiring ideas here that should interest anyone who cares about creativity, problem-solving, and re-invention. The central idea here is that design is applicable to just about any challenge—and its principles are accessible to anyone,” the site explains in its “About” section.

“Glimmer, the book which inspired this site, takes you through 10 key design principles and shows how they are being applied to business, social issues, and personal lives. On GlimmerSite we go far beyond the book—offering links to fresh content such as essays, interviews, columns, videos, and reviews.”

“Who makes up this community? People like you—who have an interest (though not necessarily expertise) in design, know that change is necessary, and are looking for the creative tools and inspiration to start making this change. The idea is to learn from the world’s top design thinkers featured in Glimmer the book and here on GlimmerSite. (For more about who these people are, check out the Glimmerati pages.)

Some of Berger’s favorites in the GlimmerGlossary

Glimmersite includes a “GlimmerGlossary,” which explains design terms-of-art in everyday language. 

Chunking: The technique of separating information into “chunks” of conceptually related content and arranging those chunks by giving precedence to critical information while deemphasizing what’s less important.

Featuritis: A condition that results when designers try to cram too many features or functions into a device, making it overcomplicated and inadvertently making it harder to use. The phenomenon is also referred to as “feature creep.”

Forgiveness: Per the book Universal Principles of Design, forgiveness in design “helps prevent errors before they occur, and minimizes the negative consequences of errors when they do occur.” For example, in designing a laptop for children, Yves Behar had to expect that kids would push the wrong buttons and might even occasionally drop the computer on the ground—so the design had to anticipate and “forgive” such actions.

Berger lives near Gedney Park, “which I use all the time,” and is a big fan of the Chappaqua Library and its events. He works from an office in Mt. Kisco.  “I love Westchester because you can be inspired by the natural beauty and yet quickly get into the city and be inspired by Manhattan. Plus I love the Jacob Burns. And I love that Westchester has so many fine writers.”

Copies of Glimmer will be available for purchase that evening. Visit Berger’s official home site by clicking HERE.