Think About Design

Why Design Changes

In the old days when we drew our plans with pencil we had a saying, "never draw more in the morning than you can erase in the afternoon."

Of all the design constants I can think of, the most common one is the aspect of change. I can attribute the success of a project by the number of design changes it took to get to the end result. I am not talking about the addition of bookcase or some adjustment to color or finish. Changes that tell the story are the ones that really matter. When a project really doesn't get off the ground and the fundamental approach goes through several iterations, that project has not been properly defined to start with. No one knows how to get there because the destination has not been established.

There are a number of reasons for this but the primary one is probably leadership. This leadership is a shared one where the client has a role and the designer or design team has a role. All parties must come the table and agree on what the outcome should be and then be willing to adhere to that idea till the thing is brought to completion.

Not understanding that concept has cost the business world a tremendous amount of money and at the same time has left the landscape with things less than what they could be.

On a positive note; design seems to be finding favor in the marketplace now with products such as the  iPod proving that good design enhances the user experience and adds desireability and quality of life. The good news for business is that these things translate to the bottom line where the "coolness" factor [for lack of a better term] sends the buyer in search of these products.

Even Thinner

Often we think of design in terms of an object but design is just an idea. As we swerve in and out of Internet traffic we eventually find a few destinations that suit our liking and we visit often. Beyond that the destinations become fewer and fewer but at the same time there is a long list of "I'll need that someday" sites that swell the bookmarks file of our browser. The real challenge of the future is not whether this or that gadget, software or content will be made available but rather if we can balance our "real life" with our digital one. So to speak. Thank you all for visiting and I hope there is occasionally a thought or two that will enhance your life; the real one.