Gerald Ajam

Three sets for anyone working in, with or around policy, design and media

Field guides to the ways reasoning fails, phrasebooks of the words each trade works in and playbooks of design methods. All three began as other people’s work.

Guides

A set of five

The field guides

Five catalogues of the ways reasoning fails: inside one mind, inside a group, inside a discussion, inside the rules chosen to prevent it, then inside one field’s beliefs about learning. The fifth, and its index, ask for a password.

  1. Vol. 01Cognitive bias
  2. Vol. 02Collective fallacies
  3. Vol. 03Faulty arguments
  4. Vol. 04Working defaults
  5. Vol. 05False certainties
Five volumes, in the order the trouble arrives
Read the introduction Search the whole glossary

Volume 01

Individual pitfalls

Volume 02

Collective pitfalls

Volume 03

Discussion pitfalls

Volume 04

Deliberate defaults

Volume 05

Professional pitfalls

A set of nine

The phrasebooks

Four toolkits of working vocabulary, cut into nine volumes: the words, the page, the software and the screen. For people who brief and review work they were never trained to make.

    1. Vol. 1Diagnosis and diction
    2. Vol. 2Cadence and candour
    3. Vol. 3Papers and protocols

    Instruments and Moves

    1. Vol. 1Glyphs and grids
    2. Vol. 2Proofs and pixels

    Marks and Measures

    1. Vol. 1Builds and branches
    2. Vol. 2Runbooks and roadmaps

    Stacks and Sprints

    1. Vol. 1Frames and footage
    2. Vol. 2Curtains and critics

    Shots and Cues

Four toolkits, 9 volumes
Read the introduction Search the whole glossary

The words

Instruments and Moves

The page

Marks and Measures

The software

Stacks and Sprints

The screen

Shots and Cues

A set of four

The playbooks

One toolkit of design methods for education and edtech, cut into four volumes on the stages of a project. Each method comes with its steps and a template to copy, and every template prints as an A3 worksheet.

    1. Vol. 1Scopes and Soundings
    2. Vol. 2Clusters and Concepts
    3. Vol. 3Props and Pilots
    4. Vol. 4Handoffs and Habits

    Briefs and Blueprints

Four volumes, in the order a project runs
Read the introduction Search the whole glossary

Design methods

Briefs and Blueprints

Pathways

Find a path through the three sets

Every volume stands on its own. These six paths pick the volumes a job calls for, in the order they help.

Path 1 · 6 steps

Policy writer or analyst

You write what decision-makers read. Learn why some papers move them.

Start here if you write the papers, briefs and consultations that decisions are made from, and need them to hold up.

  1. Diagnosing a draftDiagnosis and diction (opens in a new tab)
  2. Arrangement and candourCadence and candour (opens in a new tab)
  3. Document genresPapers and protocols (opens in a new tab)
  4. Arguments that failThe faulty arguments field guide (opens in a new tab)
  5. Biases in judgementThe cognitive bias field guide (opens in a new tab)
  6. Rules that misfireThe working defaults field guide (opens in a new tab)

Path 2 · 6 steps

Policy or programme lead

You decide what many people will do. Learn where the plan will bend.

Start here if you set what a policy or programme asks of many people, and have to see it through.

  1. Framing the problemScopes and Soundings (opens in a new tab)
  2. What groups get wrongThe collective fallacies field guide (opens in a new tab)
  3. Rules that misfireThe working defaults field guide (opens in a new tab)
  4. Biases in judgementThe cognitive bias field guide (opens in a new tab)
  5. PilotingProps and Pilots (opens in a new tab)
  6. Delivery and upkeepHandoffs and Habits (opens in a new tab)

Path 3 · 6 steps

Media producer

You make what people watch and hear. Learn the words the crew uses.

Start here if you make video, audio, live events or the slides and pages that go with them.

  1. Camera and editFrames and footage (opens in a new tab)
  2. Stage, sound and scriptCurtains and critics (opens in a new tab)
  3. Diagnosing a scriptDiagnosis and diction (opens in a new tab)
  4. Type, layout and colourGlyphs and grids (opens in a new tab)
  5. Slides, charts and printProofs and pixels (opens in a new tab)
  6. Testing before releaseProps and Pilots (opens in a new tab)

Path 4 · 6 steps

Commissioner of creative or technical work

You sign off work you’ve never made. Learn the words to judge it.

Start here if you brief, review and approve design, media or software you were never trained to make.

  1. Writing the briefScopes and Soundings (opens in a new tab)
  2. Judging a pageGlyphs and grids (opens in a new tab)
  3. Judging footageFrames and footage (opens in a new tab)
  4. Judging softwareBuilds and branches (opens in a new tab)
  5. Proofs and sign-offProofs and pixels (opens in a new tab)
  6. Reviewing a draftCadence and candour (opens in a new tab)

Path 5 · 6 steps

Designer running a project

You run the project. Learn a method for every stage.

Start here if you run a design project in education or edtech, from the brief to the review after launch.

  1. Frame and discoverScopes and Soundings (opens in a new tab)
  2. Biases in what you hearThe cognitive bias field guide (opens in a new tab)
  3. Define and ideateClusters and Concepts (opens in a new tab)
  4. What groups get wrongThe collective fallacies field guide (opens in a new tab)
  5. Prototype and testProps and Pilots (opens in a new tab)
  6. Deliver and sustainHandoffs and Habits (opens in a new tab)

Path 6 · 6 steps

Designer working with engineers

You design what engineers build. Learn what their words mean.

Start here if you design software and work beside the people who build, ship and run it.

  1. How software is builtBuilds and branches (opens in a new tab)
  2. How it runs and shipsRunbooks and roadmaps (opens in a new tab)
  3. Interface componentsProofs and pixels (opens in a new tab)
  4. Prototype and testProps and Pilots (opens in a new tab)
  5. Handing overHandoffs and Habits (opens in a new tab)
  6. Rules that misfireThe working defaults field guide (opens in a new tab)
The other half: guides for edtech
Singapore