有一种东西叫做意外结果定律
So there’s this thing called the law of unintended consequences.
我本以为那就像个谚语似的
I thought it was just like a saying,
但这定律却真实存在
but it actually exists, I guess.
这方面有一些学术文章
There’s, like, academic papers about it.
我是个设计师
And I’m a designer.
我不喜欢意料之外的结果
I don’t like unintended consequences.
人们雇佣我是因为 他们想要达到某个结果
People hire me because they haveconsequences that they really intend,
他们需要我来帮助实现他们的目标
and what they intend is for me to help them achieve those consequences.
所以我一直活在对意外后果的恐惧中
So I live in fear of unintended consequences.
我今天要讲的这个故事是关于计划中和意外结果的
And so this is a story about consequences intended and unintended.
一个叫“罗宾汉”的组织打电话给我
I got called by an organization called Robin Hood
让我帮帮他们
to do a favor for them.
“罗宾汉”总部设在纽约 它是一个非常棒的慈善机构
Robin Hood is based in New York, a wonderful philanthropic organization
他们的任务就如同他们的名字一样
that does what it says in the name.
他们从富人中获得利益分给穷人
They take from rich people, give it to poor people.
他们想为纽约的学校系统做贡献
In this case, what they wanted to benefit was the New York City school system,
这个学校一次接收超过100万的学生
a huge enterprise that educates more than a million students at a time,
在像这样一栋楼里提供教育
and in buildings that are like this one,
都是些老旧的建筑 巨大的建筑
old buildings, big buildings,
漏风的房子 有的还年久失修
drafty buildings, sometimes buildingsthat are in disrepair,
因此 其中一些需要整修
certainly buildings that could use a renovation.
“罗宾汉”的本意是想改善这栋楼里的设施
Robin Hood had this ambition to improve these buildings in some way,
但他们意识到
but what they realized was
修葺这些建筑物太贵且不切实际
to fix the buildings would be too expensive and impractical.
所以 他们想能不能在尽量多的楼里
So instead they tried to figure out what one room they could go into
每栋楼选择一个翻修房间
in each of these buildings, in as many buildings that they could,
进行修葺
and fix that one room
以此让孩子学习的时候
so that they could improve the lives of the children inside
可以改善他们的生活质量
as they were studying.
他们还决定修建图书馆
And what they came up with was the school library,
并提出了这个“图书馆计划”
and they came up with this idea called the Library Initiative.
所有学生曾经都必会经过图书馆
All the students one time or another have to pass through the library.
图书馆有书
That’s where the books are.
那是学校的心脏和灵魂所在
That’s where the heart and soul of the school is.
所以我们来修缮图书馆吧
So let’s fix these libraries.
所以他们实施了这个绝妙的计划
So they did this wonderful thing where they brought in
他们雇佣了10个 后来20个 更多的建筑师
first 10, then 20, then more architects,
每个人都被分配了一个图书馆 然后重新思考图书馆的定义
each one of whom was assigned a library to rethink what a library was.
他们训练了专门的图书管理员
They trained special librarians.
就这样展开了他们宏大的事业
So they started this mighty enterprise
通过提升图书馆质量来改革公立学校
to reform public schools by improving these libraries.
他们给我打电话问道：“你能帮个忙吗？”
Then they called me up and they said, “Could you make a little contribution?”
我说：“当然 你想让我做什么？”
I said, “Sure, what do you want me to do?”
他们说：“我们希望你担任图标设计师
And they said, “Well, we want you to be the graphic designer
主管所有的事情”
in charge of the whole thing.”
我猜我懂他们的意思
And so I thought, I know what that means.
就是让我设计一个徽标
That means I get to design a logo.
我知道怎么设计 我是设计徽标的
I know how to design that. I design logos.
那就是人们来找我的原因
That’s what people come to me for.
那好吧 我们来设计一个徽标
So OK, let’s design a logo for this thing.
比起设计整栋建筑和做个图书管理员
Easy to do, actually, compared with architecture
这可简单多了
and being a librarian.
就设计一个徽标 帮点忙 然后就没你的事了
Just do a logo, make a contribution, and then you’re out,
然后你会自我感觉超级良好
and you feel really good about yourself.
我是个了不起的家伙
And I’m a great guy
帮忙的时候让我自我感觉良好
and I like to feel good about myself when I do these favors.
所以我想 好人做到底吧
So I thought, let’s overdeliver.
我会给你们3个 基于一个想法设计的徽标
I’m going to give you three logos, all based on this one idea.
所以你有三个选择 选哪个都行
So you have three options, pick any of the three.
它们都会是不错的选择的
They’re all great, I said.
基本想法是 这是新的学校图书馆
So the basic idea was these would be new school libraries
为纽约的学校设计
for New York schools,
所以这是一个新生事物
and so the idea is that it’s a new thing,
一个需要新名称的新点子
a new idea that needs a new name.
我想要做的是让大家摆脱
What I wanted to do was dispel the idea
这是些老旧发霉图书馆的看法
that these were musty old libraries,
抛去所有人都厌烦这个地方的念头
the kind of places that everyone is bored with,
它不是你祖父母年代的图书馆
you know, not your grandparents’ library.
根本不用为这些担心
Don’t worry about that at all.
这将会是个新的 振奋人心的东西
This is going to this new, exciting thing,
不是个无聊的图书馆
not a boring library.
所以第一个选择是：
So option number one:
不要把它当成一个图书馆
so instead of thinking of it as a library,
想象一下 这是一个：
think of it as a place where it is like:
可以交流 可以大声说话的地方
do talk, do make loud noises.
对吗？ 禁止嘘 这是一个不静音的区域
Right? So no shushing, it’s like a shush-free zone.
我们会叫它“阅读室”
We’re going to call it the Reading Room.
这是选择一
That was option number one.
好了 第二个选择
OK, option number two.
选择二是 等等
Option number two was, wait for it,
OWL
OWL.
我们OWL见
I’ll meet you at OWL.
我从OWL得到我的书
I’m getting my book from the OWL.
放学后我们在OWL见
Meet you after school down at OWL.
我很喜欢这个 不是吗？
I like that, right?
现在 OWL是什么意思呢？
Now, what does OWL stand for?
嗯 它可能指“一个世界图书馆”
Well, it could be One World Library,
它可以是开放的
or it could be Open.
好奇 学习
Wonder. Learn.
或是
Or it could be
我觉得图书管理员肯定有很多其他的理解
and I figure librarians could figure out other things it could be
因为他们懂很多词
because they know about words.
那还有什么呢？
So other things, right?
看看这个
And then look at this.
它就像一只猫头鹰的眼睛
It’s like the eye of the owl.
在我看来它是很诱人的
This is irresistible in my opinion.
但这甚至还有另一个点子
But there’s even another idea.
选择三
Option number three.
选择三主要是在语言上下功夫
Option number three was based actually on language.
这个想法是”read”是”read”的过去式
It’s the idea that “read” is the past tense of “read,”
但它们的拼写是一样的
and they’re both spelled the same way.
所以我们为什么不管这个地方叫“红色区域”呢？
So why don’t we call this place The Red Zone?
我们在“红色区域”见
I’ll meet you at the Red Zone.
你红（阅读）吗？去红（阅读）吧
Are you Red? Get Red.
我很红（阅读得很好）
I’m well Red.
我真的很喜欢这个想法
I really loved this idea,
但不知道怎么的 我没有考虑到
and I somehow was not focused on the idea
图书管理员这一群人 一般都会对拼写有点在意
that librarians as a class are sort ofinterested in spelling
我也不知道
and I don’t know.
但有些时候创意比拼写更重要
But sometimes cleverness is more important than spelling,
我认为下面这个就是一个例子
and I thought this would be one of those instances.
所以当我展示自己设计的时候
So usually when I make these presentations
我一般就会遇到一个问题 那个问题就是：
I say there’s just one question and the question should be,
“我该怎么感谢你呢 麦克？”
“How can I thank you, Mike?”
但这次 客户的问题是：
But in this case, the question was more like,
“嗯 你这是在逗我？”
“Um, are you kidding?”
原因是 他们说：
Because, they said,
这些设计的前提
the premise of all this work
是孩子们已经厌倦了老旧的 发霉的图书馆
was that kids were bored with old libraries, musty old libraries.
他们对此受够了
They were tired of them.
然而他们说 这些孩子从没看见过真正的图书馆
And instead, they said, these kids have never really seen a library.
这些学校里的校图书馆
The school libraries in these schools
都太破旧了 有的学校甚至都没有
are really so dilapidated, if they’re there at all,
他们连厌烦的机会都没有
that they haven’t bored anyone.
有的学校根本没有过图书馆 更别提扰人了
They haven’t even been there to bore anyone at all.
所以我的想法就是 忘记给它取什么新名字这件事
So the idea was, just forget about giving it a new name.
就叫它“图书馆”就行了
Just call it, one last try, a library.
好吗？好
Right? OK.
所以我想 好 让它有点吸引力？
So I thought, OK, give it a little oomph?
加个惊叹号？
Exclamation point?
然后 我运用我的聪明才智
Then this is because I’m clever
把感叹号移到了”i”处
move that into the “i,”
变成红色
make it red,
这样就完成了“图书馆计划”
and there you have it, the Library Initiative.
我觉得任务完成了 这就是你们要的标志
So I thought, mission accomplished,there’s your logo.
有趣的是 这个标志有一个意外的结果
So what’s interesting about this logo,an unintended consequence,
事实证明 其实顾客并不需要我设计什么
was that it turned out that they didn’t really even need my design
因为这个徽标你可以用任何字体打印 可以手写
because you could type it any font, you could write it by hand,
而当他们开始发邮件的时候
and when they started sending emails around,
他们只要用Shift和1
they just would use Shift and 1,
就直接能打出自己的标志
they’d get their own logo just right out of the thing.
然后我想 好吧 这样也好
And I thought, well, that’s fine.
随便你们用这个标志吧
Feel free to use that logo.
然后我开始展示我真正的设计
And then I embarked on the real rollout of this thing
和每个建筑师合作
working with every one of the architects
把这个标志他们自己图书馆的门前 对吧？
to put this logo on the front door of their own library. Right?
所以这是它的初次亮相
So here’s the big rollout.
我需要和不同的设计者合作
Basically I’d work with different architects.
最初我的顾客是“罗宾汉”
First Robin Hood was my client.
现在这些建筑师是我的顾客
Now these architects were my client.
我会说“这就是你要的徽标 把它放在门上吧”
say here’s your logo put it on the door.
“这就是你要的徽标 把它放在两扇门上吧”
“Here’s your logo. Put it on both doors.”
“这是你要的徽标 把它放在边上吧”
“Here’s your logo. Put it off to the side.”
“这就是你要的徽标 在门顶上把它重复放”
“Here’s your logo repeated all over to the top.”
所以所有事情就这么轻易解决了
So everything was going swimmingly.
我就一直讲：“这是你要的徽标 这就是你要的徽标”
I just was saying, “Here’s your logo. Here’s your logo.”
然后有个设计者给我打了个电话
Then I got a call from one of the architects,
一个叫理查德·路易斯的人 他说：“我遇到了一个问题
a guy named Richard Lewis, and he says, “I’ve got a problem.
你是个搞平面设计的 你能解决吗？”
You’re the graphics guy. Can you solve it?”
我说：“可以呀”
And I said, OK, sure.”
他说：“我遇到的麻烦是
And he said, “The problem is that there’s a space
书架和天花板之间有块空档”
between the shelf and the ceiling.”
对我来说这听起来像个建筑学问题
So that sounds like an architectural issue to me,
不是个平面设计问题 所以我说：“继续”
not a graphic design issue, so I’m, “Go on.”
理查德说：“是这样 最高的架子必须足够低
And Richard says, “Well, the top shelf has to be low enough
这样孩子们才能够着
for the kid to reach it,
但我住在一栋很高大的建筑物里 天花板真的很高
but I’m in a big old building, and the ceilings are really high,
所以事实上 上面所有空白都归我了
so actually I’ve got all this space up there
我需要一些东西装饰 比如壁画”
and I need something like a mural.”
我回答：“嗯 你知道 我是个标志设计者
And I’m like, “Whoa, you know, I’m a logo designer.
我不是迭戈·里维拉或者其它的
I’m not Diego Rivera or something.
我不是个壁画设计者”
I’m not a muralist.”
所以他说：“但是你什么想法都没有吗？”
And so he said, “But can’t you think of anything?”
所以我说：“好吧 如果给孩子们拍些照片
So I said, “OK, what if we just took pictures of the kids in the school
把它们贴在架子顶端上面的空间怎么样
and just put them around the top of the thing,
可能这样效果很好”
and maybe that could work.”
我妻子是个摄影师
And my wife is a photographer,
于是我说：“多萝西 没有预算
and I said, “Dorothy, there’s no budget,
你能不能来纽约东面的这学校拍一些照片？”
can you come to this school in east New York, take these pictures?”
她去了
And she did,
如果你进到理查德的图书馆里
and if you go in Richard’s library,
它是这些图书馆里第一批开放的
which is one of the first that opened,
像英雄一般大的人像
it has this glorious frieze of, like, the heroes of the school,
俯视着下面
oversized, looking down
小小的图书馆 不是么？
into the little dollhouse of the real library, right?
这些孩子都很优秀 他们都是校长
And the kids were great, hand-selected by the principals
和图书管理员 亲自挑选的
and the librarian.
这座图书馆里营造了一些英雄主义的气氛
It just kind of created this heroic atmosphere in this library,
下面的氛围设置庄严 上面则充满童趣
this very dignified setting below and the joy of the children above.
后来其他学校的图书管理员也看见了
So naturally all the other librarians in the other schools see this
他们说：“这样啊 我们也想要壁画”
and they said, “Well, we want murals too.”
我想 好吧
And I’m like, OK.
但是这不能每次都一样
So then I think, well, it can’t be the same mural every time,
所以多萝西又拍了两张照片给另外两个图书馆
so Dorothy did another one, and then she did another one,
但之后我们需要更多帮助
but then we needed more help,
所以我叫了一个叫做林恩的插图画家
so I called an illustrator I knew named Lynn Pauley,
林恩为孩子们画了这些漂亮的壁画
and Lynn did these beautiful paintings of the kids.
然后我找来Automatic Design 的查尔斯·威尔金
Then I called a guy named Charles Wilkin at a place called Automatic Design.
他画了这些绝妙的拼贴画
He did these amazing collages.
我们有拉斐尔·伊斯科
We had Rafael Esquer
做了这些很棒的剪影
do these great silhouettes.
他与孩子打交道 想寻找词语
He would work with the kids, asking for words,
继续他们的回答
and then based on those prompts,
做出了这些小巧精致的剪影组合
come up with this little, delirious kind of constellation
就像书中的内容一样
of silhouettes of things that are in books.
彼得阿克尔和孩子交流
Peter Arkle interviewed the kids
让他们说说自己最喜爱的书
and had them talk about their favorite books
然后把他们的话放在上面
and he put their testimony as a frieze up there.
施德明和清水峪子一起工作
Stefan Sagmeister worked with Yuko Shimizu
他们用漫画配上格言：
and they did this amazing manga-style statement,
“所有诚实的人逗很有趣”
“Everyone who is honest is interesting,”
把它们安排在周围
that goes all the way around.
克里斯托夫·尼曼 优秀的插画师
Christoph Niemann, brilliant illustrator,
创作了一系列作品
did a whole series of things
你可以在书中看到 脸面 人物
where he embedded books into the faces and characters
图像和场景都和书本融为一体
and images and places that you find in the books.
还有玛利亚·卡曼
And then even Maira Kalman
她的物品和词语的剪纸
did this amazing cryptic installationof objects and words
一直贴满图书馆
that kind of go all around and will fascinate students
深深地吸引着学生
for as long as it’s up there.
大家都很满意
So this was really satisfying,
我基本只要把尺寸告诉艺术家就行了
and basically my role here was readinga series of dimensions to these artists,
我会说
and I would say,
“3×5尺 随便你弄
“Three feet by 15 feet, whatever you want.
有任何问题直接问我”
Let me know if you have any problem with that.”
然后他们就会把这些安装好
And they would go and install these.
这真的很棒
It just was the greatest thing.
但是更棒的是 其实是
But the greatest thing, actually, was
我会时不时的
Every once in a while,
收到建筑纸做成的请柬
I’d get, like, an invitation in the mailmade of construction paper,
请柬上写着：“欢迎来我们新的图书馆的开幕式”
and it would say, “You are invitedto the opening of our new library.”
所以 我去了那个图书馆 比如这个PS10
So you’d go to the library, say, you’d go to PS10,
走进去
and you’d go inside.
有气球 有学生接待
There’d be balloons, there’d be a student ambassador,
有事先拟好的演讲
there’d be speeches that were read,
为了开馆写的诗
poetry that was written specifically for the opening,
高官会颁发证书
dignitaries would present people with certificates,
整个活动就是一个激动人心的派对
and the whole thing was just a delirious, fun party.
所以我喜欢参加这些活动
So I loved going to these things.
我会站在那 穿着正装 显得格格不入
I would stand there dressed like this,obviously not belonging,
这时有人会说：“先生 你在这做什么呢”
and someone would say, “What are you doing here, mister?”
我回答：“嗯 我参与设计了这个地方”
And I’d say, “Well, I’m part of the teamthat designed this place.”
他们问：“你设计了这些书架？”
And they’d said, “You do these shelves?”
我说：“不是”
And I said, “No.”
“那你就是拍了上面的照片？”
“You took the pictures up above?”
“也没有”
“No.”
“那你是做了什么呢？”
“Well, what did you do?”
“你进门的时候 看到那个符号了么？”
“You know when you came in?The sign over the door?”
“你是说那个写了图书馆字样的指示牌么？”
“The sign that says library?”
“是的 是我做的！”
“Yeah, I did that!”
然后他们就走了 “嗯 设计得不错的 挺好的”
And then they’d sort of go, “OK. Nice work if you can get it.”
总之我很高兴能参加这些开幕式
So it was so satisfying going to these little openings
尽管我基本被嘲笑或忽视
despite the fact that I was kind of largely ignored or humiliated,
但真的很有趣
but it was actually fun going to the openings,
所以我决定叫来我工作室的人
so I decided that I wanted to get the people in my office
是他们找来的插画师和摄影师
who had worked on these projects,get the illustrators and photographers,
我说 为什么我们不租一辆车
and I said, why don’t we rent a van
在纽约里开来开去
and drive around the five boroughs of New York
看看我们一次性到底能看到多少图书馆
and see how many we could hit at one time.
最后 一共有60个图书馆
And eventually there were going to be 60 of these libraries,
所以 我们一天下来 可能会看到6个
so we probably got to see maybe half a dozen in one long day.
最棒的是可以见到这些图书管理员
And the best thing of all was meeting these librarians
他们管理这些书籍 管理这个地方
who kind of were running these, took possession of these places
就像在他们自己的舞台 他们被请来
like their private stage upon which they were invited
迷住他们的学生 然后让书本活过来
to mesmerize their students and bring the books to life,
这是令人兴奋的一次经历
and it was just this really exciting experience
我们可以亲眼看到这些“表演”
for all of us to actually see these things in action.
所以我们一整天的时间都在做着这件事
So we spent a long day doing this
之后我们来到最后一个图书馆
and we were in the very last library.
这是冬天 天黑的很早
It was still winter, because it got dark early,
图书管理员说：
and the librarian says,
“我要关门了 很高兴你们能来
“I’m about to close down. So really nice having you here.
嘿 等下 你们想看我是怎么关这些灯的么？”
Hey, wait a second, do you want to seehow I turn off the lights?”
我说：“好啊”
I’m like, “OK.”
她说：“我有一个特殊的关灯方法”
And she said, “I have this special way that I do it.”
然后 她展示给我看
And then she showed me.
她把灯一盏盏的关掉
What she did was she turned out every light one by one by one by one,
留下了最后一盏灯
and the last light she left on
那盏灯照亮着孩子们的脸
was the light that illuminated the kids’ faces,
她说：“那是每晚我最后关的一盏灯
and she said, “That’s the last lightI turn off every night,
因为我想用以此来提醒自己 我为什么做这份工作”
because I like to remind myself why I come to work.”
当我开始做这一切的时候
So when I started this whole thing,
我还记得 我只是把它当作设计一个徽标就可以
remember, it was just about designing that logo
然后想个巧妙的名字
and being clever, come up with a new name?
最终产生的意外结果
The unintended consequence here,
我想归功于自己
which I would like to take credit for
某种程度上 我是通过自己的经历才想到这些的
and like to think I can think through the experience to that extent,
但是我不能
but I can’t.
我只是关注下一步
I was just focused on a foot ahead of me,
只考虑自己触手可及的事情
as far as I could reach with my own hands.
相反 在远方
Instead, way off in the distance
是一个图书管理员
was a librarian
找到了这条因果链
who was going to find the chain of consequences
把我们不断发展的一系列活动
that we had set in motion,
作为一种激励
a source of inspiration
这样她就能很好的完成她的工作
so that she in this case could do her work really well.
每年有4万的孩子受益于这些图书馆
40,000 kids a year are affected by these libraries.
现在已经过去10年了
They’ve been happening for more than 10 years now,
那些图书管理员让一代的孩子接触到了书
so those librarians have kind of turned on a generation of children to books
这一点让人感到兴奋
and so it’s been a thrill to find out
有时候 意外的结果是最好的结果
that sometimes unintended consequences are the best consequences.
谢谢大家
Thank you very much.