I’ve learned so much over the past few months attending conferences in San Francisco, Miami, and tomorrow I’ll be heading to Toronto for the Mesh conference.

What has come out of the conferences I’ve attended are the concepts of emotion, empathy, and more of the “softer” sides of experience. An important element that many data driven / quantitative focused organizations still fail to acknowledge.

And yet we are building web and other IT solutions for people, not machines. So why shouldn’t there be a stronger focus on the human side of design, as we’ve seen companies like Apple, Adaptive Path, and Motive8 incorporate into their corporate culture.

What not many in the professional world know about me is that I used to paint and draw quite a bit. The painting below is one I completed back in Grade 12.

I studied the Impressionists and Fauvism in University and fell in love with Van Gogh. The broad brush strokes, bright colors, and passion that flows through every one of his works inspired me in many ways.

Daniel Rose from Bell Canada talked about why it’s really not possible to think outside the box at the Viz Think conference. In fact the only way to gain a different perspective on similar problems is to surround yourself with others not in your field.

Engrossing oneself in other creative disciplines like art is another way to expand your perspective on common problems, in my experience.

My neighbors may not appreciate my playing the drums again, but I’ll admit I’ve been looking into a Pearl set at a local music store here in Ottawa. Speaking of drums, music is another example of a medium through which emotion has a huge impact on perception and design.

This video is by a remarkable young man, Sungha Jung, playing his version of U2’s “With or Without You”. Put on some ear buds, close your eyes, and just listen to this beautiful rendition. What emotions or experiences do you think of?

Music, like scent, is a powerful trigger of memories and resulting emotions. Imagine being able to “feel” and subsequently “harness” such emotion into your designs! What could you and your team create?