I have a hard time separating politics from design. I use the same part of my brain to dream up a great interaction model as I do to dream up a better policy approach.
The same part of my brain that helps me be a successful designer by staying tuned to other points of view is the same as the part of my brain that knows that nothing can get done in politics without compromise.
The disappointment that I feel when my favorite proposal fails in usability testing is the same as when I see a liberal proposal that can't pick up votes. Or passes, but isn't as successful as I assumed it would be.
I use the same restraint when I am 100%, positively, absolutely sure I am right about something but I know that beating my chest and kicking up dust will work against me. In design, in the workplace, in my marriage, in friendships. In life.
So.
It's in vogue to hate all politicians. To say "a pox on both their houses". To say "neither side is being fair." To be so centrist, or to try so hard to be unbiased, that you stop noticing that one side has devolved to holding a hostage, as is happening in the US House of Representatives now.
Before you write off politics, before you assume they're all corrupt, before you throw up your hands and say that politics has nothing to do with design, remember this truth in both politics and design:
If both sides are acting in good faith and open to compromise, it's all just part of the messy, painful, all-too-human process.
But if one side refuses to budge, they have forfeited their right to lead. You are not equal partners any longer, you are being set up. They are sabotaging you, and you have to change your footing to defend against it.
Whether it's your creative director, your business partner, your manager, a family member, or your congressperson, a negotiation where one side refuses to budge is no longer a negotiation.
It's a robbery.
