The Catch 22 with Buzzwords
In the age of empty promises and false hope, we ask the question of whether we’re running out of words...
Welcome to the Driftime® Desk, a newsletter for the latest happenings, thoughts, finds, and vibes from the better parts of human nature through the lens of design.
When it comes down to it - we use words to help explain our ambitions succinctly. Whilst not always verbs, they rely on action to have authentic meaning behind our sustainability efforts and genuine purpose in our local and global community. Notice the number of buzzwords used in the last sentence? Following through on promises driven by buzzwords isn’t always easy - they are often the product of effective marketing; top teams championing our visions for a better future, only needing to be backed up by real action.
We have buzzwords for a reason; they’re words that still hold some form of articulation in our conversations today. The problem we face is the over usage of these words and the lack of action behind them. Are we running out of words to articulate our true intentions? We seem to recycle words like “sustainability” and “purpose” all too often, assimilating their meanings with our missions and taking into account their popularity, familiarity, and place in trends. Is there a better word for “purpose” we could use that doesn’t eventually fall into the cesspool of buzzwords? There’s a level of real-life SEO involved in buzzwords. Certain words attract attention and return high results, whilst others fall short and lose engagement.
In some ways it can be difficult not to take advantage of buzzwords, as they give us a preliminary sense of what we’re discussing. They capture a sentiment that everyone can recognise, remember, and relate to. The challenge is not how many ways we can say such things, but the action we can put behind it to show credibility.
Popular words are saturating a market caught up in jargon. There are only so many times you can hear “innovation” until it loses its value, being reduced back down to a familiar albeit empty notion without much impact. We’ve learnt that leading with action rather than words guides us towards an authentic and meaningful approach to design, and more widely, work across impact-driven industries. Avoiding buzzwords altogether, and instead focusing on the things you do in place of the things you say, has value beyond the page.
The Driftime® team.
…design isn’t about making something look better, it’s about moving someone to action.
Hillman Curtis
Of relevance…
🔎💻 "The language of design and placemaking can be jargon-heavy, hard to define and mean different things to different people." Hear from The Glass House on community led, collaborative design.
📲 🏅What's does "design thinking" really mean? Explore what it means to talk about design beyond the buzzwords it generates.
👏 🌿 Sustainability is key. Take action and de-clutter your digital business with a lesson in measuring (and managing) your carbon emissions.