It's all a matter of perspective. In this stunning TED lecture by Michael Pollan he encourages us to see things from a plant's-eye view -- to consider the possibility that nature isn't opposed to culture.
Take a moment to click the full screen button, watch this 17 min video and then take a walk outside.
The striking thing about this view of life is that if we engage in a symbiotic relationship with nature then both culture and nature are better off. This fundamentally shifts us out of the doom and gloom scenarios of climate change that predict the demise of nature as we continue to consume.
There's an analogy to be made here as well. While the farmer was concerned primarily about growing grass and soil, with produce being the by-product, I see design as fundamentally about growing ideas. We have a rich digital platform evolving before us and if the message we deliver is in symbiosis with the end user experience we have another win win scenario. Users enjoy great services and products while profits are made. The focus of this symbiosis though is not the seductive visual or the call to action, it's the idea. If the idea is right, it becomes a meme and success is inevitable.
As designers we grow digital ideas.
TED is an amazing website, not so much for it's design (which is great), but because it demonstrates how effective the web can be at achieving TED's stated aim and byline... "Ideas worth spreading".
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