A while back, I wrote about an email that made my heart stop—an auto-generated message declaring that an employee had been “terminated.”

That impersonal, poorly designed communication spoke volumes about the organization’s attitude towards its people. And the fact that it happens in my own institution, one that values innovation and inclusion, makes it worse. Today, I want to share two more recent experiences that further illuminate how organizational design philosophies manifest in the smallest of interactions.

You have been terminated: A case for humane design

The Path of Least Resistance

Recently, I was asked to give an talk. This was an important talk – for me and as is my custom, I planned to use my Mac to connect to the projector, with the added complication of the talk being broadcast via Zoom. That said, it is a setup I’ve used successfully many times before.

I have also learned the hard way to check with the tech team before my presentation – just in case. When I reached out to the IT team, their response was less than encouraging:

“Technically the presenter could connect directly via their Mac, but because it’s hybrid and all the sound/video runs through the host-PC, it gets a bit ‘iffy’… I think the easiest/least stressful thing for both the candidate and us is to format the slides for PC and use the host PC in the Room.”

To put it bluntly, this response rankled me. It felt like a cop-out, a refusal to tackle the problem head-on because it might inconvenience them. The thing is, my presentation style relies heavily on having my Mac with me. But it seemed all they cared about was their own convenience.

What’s more frustrating is the lack of any attempt at creative problem-solving. They could have, for instance, preset a Mac and tested it out, asking me to bring my presentation on a thumb drive. But this option was never even considered.

To me, this is an example of bad design—prioritizes, as it does, the system over the user, convenience over functionality. It’s a mindset that says, “This is how we’ve always done it, so this is how you must do it too.”

Above and Beyond

Now, let me share a contrasting experience I had at the ICICLE conference a few months ago. The IT/AV team there faced a similar challenge. Their setup required laptops to stay at the back of the room – a non-starter for my presentation style.

But here’s where the story takes a different turn. Instead of simply saying “no” or asking me to adapt, they went above and beyond. The team worked overnight to find a solution. They set up screens at the bottom of the stage that mirrored my laptop display, allowing me to give the talk exactly the way I wanted to.

This, to me, is what good design looks like in action. It’s about finding creative solutions to meet user needs, even when those needs don’t fit the standard mold. It’s about putting in extra effort to ensure the best possible experience for everyone involved.

The Heart of Design: From Emails to Tech Support

The contrast between these two experiences is stark, and it speaks volumes about what good and bad design truly mean at an organizational level. Just as the “termination” email revealed a lack of empathy and attention to detail, these tech support interactions expose the underlying design philosophies of institutions and teams.

In my post about termination I had quoted Steve Jobs – and it is worth repeating the quote again:

When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.

In the case of the unhelpful IT team, we see the same kind of thoughtlessness that went into that impersonal HR email. It’s a system-first approach that prioritizes established procedures over user needs. It’s the organizational equivalent of using “a piece of plywood on the back” of a drawer—functional, perhaps, but devoid of care and consideration.

On the other hand, the ICICLE conference team demonstrated the kind of attention to detail and care that exemplifies good design. Their willingness to go the extra mile mirrors the care a craftsman might take in selecting “a beautiful piece of wood” for an unseen part of their creation. It shows an organizational culture that values quality and the needs of the user.

These experiences reinforce a crucial point: in every interaction, no matter how small, we have the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to humane design. Whether it’s crafting an email notification or setting up a presentation, the philosophy of an organization shines through.

Good design isn’t just about aesthetics or functionality in isolation. It’s about caring about doing the work right. It’s about carrying “the aesthetic, the quality… all the way through,” even in the aspects that might seem invisible or inconsequential.

It is in these small moments that our true design philosophy reveals itself.