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4.2.2010 by Flow    Comments ()        follow me     connect
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Does design matter?

Does design matter?

Last week I wrote about the relevance of simplicity in design in order to break through the information clutter. It relates to all fields from product design, graphic design and interior design for retial. It's obvious that visual stimulation influences decision-making, helping to remind, convince or inform.

Then a week later an interesting article caught my attention. It expressed very vividly what I was confronted with in my every day life as a designer time and time again.

A good idea depends on a good execution, in advertising as well as any other business. Obviously an idea can come from anywhere and anyone, 'crowdsourcing' being the perfect example. The only problem is that the people with ideas depend heavily on the ones having to execute them and that's where problems and misunderstandings in many design processes stem from.

On the one hand are the ones generating ideas who often feel superior because they are the first in the development-chain. This often results in a top-down communication which may darken a relationship between a marketing department and an agency, between an architect and a carpenter or between a member of the public and a graphic designer.

On the other hand do designers with great imagination often see their field as a place where they can earn a living while pursuing their artistic passions. Marketing objectives are then perceived as hindrance.

To overcome this gap in understanding an architect may do well having done the job of a carpenter for a few weeks and vice versa. Mutual understanding will increase the possibilities for design. Ideas and their execution correlate. A designer's task shouldn't be purely functional and aesthetic but most importantly it should be about understanding consumers' thoughts and emotions in order to motivate behavior change.

Does design matter? It matters as much as having a good idea.


4.2.2010 by Flow

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