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If you’ve ever tried to push open a door you were meant to pull, or battled to muscle the lid off a jar of pickles, you’ll know that some things in life just aren’t designed to work as well as they should. If, on the other hand, you’ve ever picked up a smartphone and intuitively known how to switch it on, or walked into a room where the lights subtly shifted their hue as you approached, you will have experienced the joy that good design can add to everyday living. There’s more to design than the way things look, the way they work, and the way they feel. In countless small and not-so-small ways, design is the seamless and invisible force that can make us feel good about the world, because somebody somewhere has taken the time and the trouble to make it a better place. Few people realise and proclaim that better than Ravi Naidoo, founder of the Design Indaba Conference and Expo, the showcase event that brings some of the world’s leading designers, entrepreneurs, innovators and thinkers to Cape Town every year. The Indaba celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2015, a tribute to the vision and zeal of a man who believes that the best way to live your life, is to design it well. Ravi spoke to us about the art and science of design, and its power as a catalyst for positive change.
If you could change one thing about yourself for the better, what would that be, and why?
I’d like to write more. I have a larder of stories and experiences to share, but have not had the discipline to knuckle down and start writing.
What do you love most about change?
I am a hybrid entrepreneur. A scientist with a business degree who champions creativity and design. I am here because I embrace change. So I have become a celebrant of change. It has created opportunity that I could not have telegraphed before the changes.
Where do you go when you feel like a change of scenery?
I am hyper-intinerant. I have travelled over 100,000 miles every year for 20 years. I find some of my best ideas come from distance, and fresh perspective. I travel with my antenna primed. I am constantly on the lookout for the novel, new and interesting.
You studied science and physiology at university, before becoming an entrepreneur. How has your background helped you to appreciate and understand design?
It’s taught me about process. It’s given me rigour. And importantly, the ability to be skeptical, and investigate further.
What was the greatest fear you had to overcome when you set out to become an entrepreneur?
It was at the dawn of democracy, in South Africa, and I was concerned corporate South Africa was not ready to accept ideas from a dusky-hued business grad. So it was confidence, really. And the hope that good ideas will prevail over petty attitudes and behaviour.
In what way do you think design can act as a catalyst for change in Africa?
The word design is often misunderstood, and there is a debate about its meaning. The best definition that I have come across is this: design is that skill or facility that improves the quality of life. Which is probably why I like spending time with designers. It’s refreshing to be around people who want to make things better. Designers are optimists. They are reformers. Designers re-imagine the world we live in. Africa can do with this reformer zeal, don’t you think? Design does not only belong to the First World, and given the developmental priorities of our continent, there should be a campaign to put design on the continental agenda. Design is best when it serves people, and not just brands.
What work of design, in any field, has made the most difference to your everyday life?
Design is everywhere. It’s the stuff that surrounds us. It is estimated that the average person interacts with about 150 items of design by breakfast, from the toothpaste tube to the box containing the cornflakes! Its easy to see why. Everything in the man-made world has been designed, from houses we live in, the clothes we wear, to the modes of transport we use. And so design touches on every aspect of our lives, which makes it an important discipline.
What is the most memorable piece of advice or insight on design that you have ever heard at the Design Indaba?
“The greatest deterrent to a great idea, is your current good idea.” Michael Woolf, founder of Woolf Olins.
How can design make a real and meaningful difference to the lives of the majority of South Africans who live in poverty, and is there any particular project or product that you believe has managed to do this?
Our own project was a good example. I mean we have to put our money where our mouths are! Credibility is built by doing, not talking. So, building 10 houses in Freedom Park, in the Design Indaba 10×10 Low Cost Housing Project, and giving them to families that had lived in shacks was one of the most wholesome things we have done. It made design and creativity more relevant to the crisis du jour in our country. And it showed you cannot be a think tank, without also being a do tank.
What is the single biggest lesson you’ve learned about life and change from your involvement in setting up and running the Design Indaba?
It takes time to have meaningful impact. Too often, entrepreneurs are too impatient. Meaningful things only happen over time. It takes time to shift consciousness and change behaviour.
Who is the entrepreneur or designer you admire the most, and why?
Mark Shuttleworth. I worked with him when our company project managed the First African in Space mission. I experienced his world class abilities at close quarters. He inspired me by his BHAGS. Big hairy audacious goals. I think many entrepreneurs fall foul of thinking too small. He dares dream big, and makes no small plans.
What was the single biggest and scariest change you have ever made in your life?
Quitting the only job I ever had, halfway through an MBA degree, and starting my own company.
What advice can you give aspirant entrepreneurs hoping to make it big in South Africa and around the world?
Be relevant to the context in which you operate. In the deeply personal, comes the universal.
Do you think anyone can learn to design, or is it is a special skill you have to be born with?
Now before you think that design is only something that talented artists can engage in, let’s state that all good designs start with an idea. And we know that all human beings have the power to generate ideas – so we all start from the same place. Agreed, some are better than others, but we can all be given the chance to find out for ourselves. We believe designers are not born – they can be taught. The best, of course, will find professional jobs in design, but others can still engage in pursuits in design and creativity, at home or at work. Design is after all about problem solving, and this is a skill we could all do with.
Where do you see yourself and the Design Indaba in five years’ time?
Our best is ahead of us. It’s why we are still here after 20 years, with undiminished passion. Our project will take a generation to have its full impact. We have a way to go. We knew this at the start, and we are animated by the new opportunities that continue to present themselves, locally and internationally.
What inspires you most about living in South Africa in the 21st Century?
Our people. Our politicians, less so.
* This article first appeared on the Change Exchange, an online platform by BrightRock, provider of the first-ever life insurance that changes as your life changes.
