A framework by William Forty
Making is a loop, not a line.
You imagine something, you make it real, you learn from what happens, and what you learn lets you imagine more. Find out which part of the loop you're in right now, and what's missing.
9 questions · about a minute · no sign-up
The Myth of Done
Most people picture making something as a straight line. You have an idea. You build it. And then you're done. William Forty calls this the Myth of Done: the belief that builders know exactly what they're making from the start, so one build finishes the job.
But that's not how good things get made. Creative work isn't a line. It's a loop.
Making things is a way of discovering things.
One lamp, round the loop
There's no fixed way in. You can start with an idea, by tinkering without a plan, or simply by noticing something. Follow one idea all the way round.
Lap one
Imagination
It might begin with imagination: conceiving something that doesn't exist. Yet.
At this point it's only an idea. A picture in your head of what could be. Say, a new kind of lamp.
Where are you stuck?
The loop is how you move. But draw the three stages as overlapping circles, and you get something else: a way to see where you're stuck.
Hover or tap a region.
Each of the seven regions is a state: which stages of the loop are running for you, and which are missing.
These are states, not identities.
You might be a different one on every project. So pick one project you're working on right now, and find out where its loop is stuck.
The film
Four minutes, one lamp, all seven states. Captions are on by default.
Good technology is never done. It's built, used, learned from, and improved.
Imagine what's possible. Make it real. Learn. And imagine more.