While I didn't dislike this episode, it still wasn't my favorite. Ian himself is genius and has had such a profound effect on the world that I can't not be in awe of his work. I think I was a little bit more turned away by the energy of this episode and also the subject. I am personally less attracted to UI or product design pathways mostly because I enjoy building and designing physical structures.
I still think though, that a lot of Ian talks about is applicable to any realm of design. While these questions, such as "is it useful?", "will people use it?", "Is it a waste of space?", are more geared towards UI design, it's important to ask these questions when designing anything that other people will interact with besides the designer. I think just like many other episodes of Abstract, it makes me realize how much attention and care is required to be a designer. I love that designers can pick out the fine details and while these small things may go unnoticed to an untrained eye, a designer can see through their special lense. It's just cool.
Towards the end of the episode, the discussion around the social effects of Instagram were really unique in this episode. I liked that even though Spalter designed this revolutionary product, he was still able to criticize it and acknowledge its downfalls. His 12-year-old son even admitted to not wanting to have a phone whereas I was begging my parents for one since the 4th grade. This aspect of being a designer I realize is important; being able to turn around and check ourselves and our work. Especially working in the new age of technology, we have to be careful about our impact.