Design: In everyday life, “Design” refers to the pleasant shape of things. It is a superficial term, cosmetic rather than structural in its meaning. When designers talk about “Design” they refer to how a product or service works, rather than how it looks. Designers, a highly heterogeneous audience, have a more structural, sometimes even moral understanding of how products are built. The difference in use can lead to a lot of misunderstandings. When talking to a client, be sure to specify what kind of design you’re referring to, which helps avoid debates around Taste.
Design Positivism: The belief that web design will ultimately become a fully objective practice based on objective rules and an infallible scientific method. Design positivists are usually not aware that they are design positivist, or that they presume a perspective-independent absolute truth. They look down upon the humanities because they do not offer measurable, weighable, countable results. Some design positivists claim that the humanities will sooner or later be swallowed by natural science. In spite of their dubious metaphysical ideology, design positivists are often highly intelligent and offer valuable inputs.
Digital: Ambiguous term. On one hand, everything is digital now. Cellphones have eaten analogue cameras, stereo equipment, alarm clocks, and calendars. Cars are computers on wheels. The longer we use “Digital” and the more products become digital, the less meaning it has. At the same time, using the term to express “information technology” or “interactive communication” is still justified because the word “digital” is commonly used in that Context. To our knowledge, there is no alternative term. Since the terms are infinitely interconnected and continuously evolve, it is nearly impossible to fully comprehend how networked digital systems work.
Digital Transformation: Also called digitization. One of the many Buzzwords that slowly disappeared. The term is used to describe the ongoing process of moving all communication online, of putting a chip into everything aka Internet of Things, or structuring and steering private relations and commercial processes electronically. Although our culture may be in the midst of a great digital transformation, no one really knows The Future.
DMA: The Digital Markets Act. According to Wikipedia, the DMA is "an EU regulation that aims to make the digital economy fairer and more contestable." According to Apple and Apple enthusiasts, the DMA rests on vague condemnations, perpetuating the belief that the EU creates uninformed, impractical, and outright irrational laws. If you take the time to read the DMA you may find the very opposite to be exponentially more accurate. Critiques of the DMA tend to triumphantly misinterpret the GDPR as an example of how impractical and ignorant the EU lawmakers are shooting themselves in the foot without blinking.
Do it live: Refers to a viral video of Fox News presenter Bill O’Reilly’s getting excited upon not understanding what the text on the teleprompter meant. We use “Do it live!” to go live, share important new, or push a project over a critical threshold. We play the track on social media before launching large projects to announce that something exciting is coming soon. “Do it live” is often followed by Quickly Quickly.
