Website official release, Fall, 2023
Pete Ward
Industrial Design
"Industrial Design is a strategic problem-solving process that drives innovation, builds business success and leads to a better quality of life through innovative products, systems, services and experiences. Industrial Design bridges the gap between what is and what’s possible. It is a trans-disciplinary profession that harnesses creativity to resolve problems and co-create solutions with the intent of making a product, system, service, experience or a business, better. At its heart, Industrial Design provides a more optimistic way of looking at the future by reframing problems as opportunities. It links innovation, technology, research, business and customers to provide new value and competitive advantage across economic, social and environmental spheres. Industrial Designers place the human in the center of the process. They acquire a deep understanding of user needs through empathy and apply a pragmatic, user centric problem solving process to design products, systems, services and experiences. They are strategic stakeholders in the innovation process and are uniquely positioned to bridge varied professional disciplines and business interests. They value the economic, social and environmental impact of their work and their contribution towards co-creating a better quality of life."
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- The Professional Practice Committee
About Pete
Personal Biography
Who am I to question humanities current state of evolution? I am, after all, a white male of European decent, college educated, and a resident of the global north. I have been granted access, and continue to indulge in, material comforts unsurpassed in human history. What reason or right do I have to criticize the system which sustains me? These are legitimate questions which will inevitably be asked from the standpoint of individuality. However, it is addressing the differences in the perspectives of individualistic vs. common thinking which is the point of this bio.
It is human nature to make assessments of each other based on our individual experiences and what we have come to understand as cultural norms. But to understand each other on a personal level requires the willingness to see through our cultural conditioning to recognize our core humanity and commonality. Likewise, global equity requires the will to amend aspects of consumer culture we have come to perceive as "personal rights" but now understand to be counter productive to our evolution as a species, and detrimental to those whom our lifestyle choices influence. It is my objective to initiate an open dialog about how capitalism and industry have led us down the path we are on, and to create the will necessary to unite for change by presenting viable alternatives. As the creator of Anthropolis and author of the AnthroBlog, it is relevant to provide a bit of personal backstory for insight into how I have acquired my personal perspective, which I hope will convey both humanity and humility.
