Critical, not cynical.

We must be critical, not cynical. Cynical thinking celebrates negativity and is passively destructive. When we think cynically, everything appears dark. Cynical thinking is neither positive nor negative. It has no “dog in the fight.”

What we need instead is the reasoned process of analysis, of fully understanding the nature of the problem and then finding the freedom to design solutions. The most powerful critique of a bad solution is a better one. As designers, our task is to create better solutions, and that process begins with optimism.