Communication = Design

A series on the guiding forces behind Libero founder, Amanda Daly’s, problem solving philosophy.

I love to study design because to study design is to study human communication. Human beings are complex creatures and the way we communicate is such a concentrated example of how intricate the human brain is, how varied the human experience is, and how these things shape the world around us everyday.

My undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Science in Communication with an Emphasis in Emerging Media (quite the mouthful, I know). It may seem like this degree was an obvious choice, but I actually started my undergrad journey on an ‘emergency management’ track, but switched a quarter of the way through. Despite my love to organize chaos (more on that later) I realized no matter what I decided to do, I’d better be able to communicate with everyone and anyone involved.

Mediums I’ve used to communicate: research writing, creative writing, playwriting, copywriting, voice over acting, videography, photography, directing, acting, singing, graphic design, publication design, campaign design, physical display design (retail), website design, event design, event marketing…

I’ll always be learning more about these dialects of human language and hope to become fluent in many more. The study of human communication weaves it’s way around the rest of my back-row as well, because once you start listening, it’s hard to stop!

It also plays a vital role in solving problems, of all kinds. Understanding to the problem is the first step in solving it, and listening is a key way to learn what you need to understand it. Often times it’s not even listening to the words spoken about it, but listening for the underlying meaning, for the tonal inflections that lead you down the avenues to the real problem, not just the perceived one. Without listening, there is no solving.