“Design is everywhere. There’s nothing that you use that isn’t designed in some way. They are designed to help you complete a given task. It’s just a matter of how well designed it is or not.” - Ian Spalter, Head of Design at Instagram.
I don’t think there is a better way to start this post other than this quote. Design is everywhere. We are surrounded by it. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Sometimes we are able to appreciate it and sometimes it goes unnoticed.
Over the course of this year I have made a series of posts where I looked at various examples of what I considered great design. I have tried to make these quite different, in order to exploring different areas and constantly asking questions. The aim of this was to understand better what “great design” means to me and help me become a better designer. Throughout out the year, I have developed this, getting a better idea of what great design is, incorporating that essence and philosophy in my work.
One of the underlying and recurring themes in all blogs has been simplicity. In my opinion, this is one of the characteristics a great design should have. I believe design should be simple enough for a user to understand and know how to interact with what they are given. They should not have to think too much on how to use it or feel overwhelmed by it. The design should speak by itself and have just the essential.
As Ian Spalter said, “design is everywhere”. We are surrounded by design. Everywhere we look, everything we see has been thought of. It is like that for a purpose. However, we don’t usually stop to think about it. We are so used to seeing and interacting with certain objects, we don’t question their design. They’ve always been like that and we just take it for granted. It’s only until we encounter a problem with the design when we stop and ask “why?”.
There is something Ian said which I found very interesting and made me pay more attention to the little details: “A stove has a user interface. So what conventions are out there in the world that you should take advantage of? You don’t want someone to think too much about heating a pan. But then, sometimes there are opportunities to improve things. Maybe it’s about adding options that make sense. So, I have a toaster that has a button that says “A bit more” on it. Totally get why you would need that, right? Cause that’s part of the user experience of making toast. Now, as a designer, there are costs to that, because now you added a new button. Is it worth it? Is it actually valuable? Is it something that people use or is it just sort of superfluous, and just like, maybe sell some toasters. That’s all part of the experience, thinking about the conditions and the context. And then how do you work within those constraints to make that task as easy and pleasurable as possible?”
Think about how people think. Think how they approach each other. How they interact with the products. Ask questions. Try to understand. Repeat. Make changes. Refine. Keep your eyes open.
I really liked what Tinker Hatfield, one of the world’s best sneaker designers said: “A basic design is always functional, but a great one will say something.”. It’s a very interesting statement and if I’m honest, I don’t know if I agree or disagree. I have been thinking about it for a long time but I can’t still make my mind up. I understand his point but, does a great design HAVE to say something? Can’t it be so great and simple that it simply goes unnoticed?
I am still not completely sure what great design really is. I have a better idea of what it means to me, but I think understanding takes time, takes practice. Asking more questions. Trying to look at the answers. Reading. Learning. Seeing. Doing. Over and over again. And hopefully, over the years, you will develop this and apply it to your designs. And it might be then, when you look at it and know what great design finally means.