I just watched The Grinch with my kiddos. We watch some version of it every year, Mr. Grinch and his considerable disdain for what he sees as the excessive consumptionism of Whoville’s Christmas. But this year, it fueled a thought: I’m considering my blatant use of the word consumer . As I dedicate more time to design theory it’s interesting how important language is to the process. Language, our lexicon, shapes our thinking. And our thinking shapes our actions, our processes. And that word, consumer, keeps sticking out like a small, stray cactus spine. What does this word mean? “A person who purchases goods and services for personal use.” Yeah, okay, but the root of it is a bit darker. To consume. To eat up, devour, deplete, destroy, waste. In this time of evolving awareness and sensitivity to waste and depletion, this word hits rather painfully on the nose. Consumerism feels like it’s due for a make-over, similar to the one I felt growing up when gasoline w