In his neon green Reebok shoes, Gebbia thought about what it really means to be a designer. He shot soft questions over to Maeda who on the other hand shared his ideas on different flavors in art. "Design is not a method, it can't be coded in an algorithm," Maeda said. It may have a rational pattern, but contains a beauty and craziness you can't find elsewhere. As a creative leader, Maeda added, you have to make sure that these little vibrations you send out don't become tornadoes within your company.

Leaving perfection behind and moving towards empathy, design can have a powerful impact. "Become the person you want to design for," Gebbia gave the advice. If it concerns medical design, "lay down in the bed and become the patient." Empathy sparks creativity, which then again is the missing link in many tech start-ups. Alongside a "yes"-attitude and inspiration coming from a note book or simply a paper bug, there is no reason to expect more and more founders from art schools in the near future.

This article was written for DLD Media and first published 22/01/13 on dld-conference.com. Click here for the link. The #DLD13 conference live coverage also included sending out Tweets about every session, interacting with the audience, interviewing speakers and posting highlights on Facebook.