Each day we encounter products and services that at some point were designed to serve a particular purpose. In addition to performing as required, people appreciate the aesthetic qualities of a product or service and prefer to use things that are easy to understand. Most businesses also recognise the value of good design and want to provide customers with a good user experience. Therefore, it is reasonable to ask why too often we experience poor design, in relation to usability, aesthetics, performance and reliability.
What Is Good Design?
We could describe good design as something that only has elements required to optimise usability, performance and aesthetics. If something is badly designed it includes elements that do not add to usability, performance or aesthetics and might worsen them. We often think of design in purely visual terms, but it can include the entire experience of using a product or service. Before buying something, people typically compare factors including price, performance and reliability. If a design also inspires customers, they are more likely to be motivated to share their experience with others, which could attract more customers.
Good design often has a timeless quality and the term classic design is often applied to something that consistently delivers what people want over a long period of time. Rather than come and go as fashions change, or being replaced by better alternatives, they are the best at what they do, which can lead to them becoming desirable status symbols. An evolutionary approach to planning, developing, testing and evaluation could ensure that by the time a product or service reaches the market the design cannot be improved upon, which could lead to it becoming a classic.
When comparing anything from architecture, furniture or fashion to electrical goods, movies, digital user interfaces or the customer sales experience, people appreciate good design. If something is confusing or misleading this can cause people to reject what might in many ways be an excellent product or service. In a highly competitive world people can easily find alternatives and will often tell others about a negative experience. There are examples of technically superior products being outsold and even replaced by others that were better designed in some way, even if only in terms of how well they were marketed to the target audience.
The Design Process
Design involves the organisation of elements with a defined purpose. It can be influenced by factors such as requirements, resources and branding. Visual design elements include; proportion, balance, harmony, scale, contrast and use of space and colour. Ideas inspired by your surroundings, or resulting from brainstorming sessions, could be written down or sketched. Consider who will be using a product or service and under what conditions. Try to remove obstacles to understanding. For example, an unusual website navigation menu could cause confusion and reduce usability. Referencing something familiar could improve usability, such as when computer desktops use icons resembling physical folders and files.
Form following function is a principle that the intended function should guide design decisions, so that nothing detracts from how useful it is. When something is poorly designed, it will often be less fun to use and require more effort, while good design is frequently intuitive to use and less stressful. Aesthetic appeal can enhance good design, but mere decoration is often a distraction. There will also likely be practical constraints, such as budget, resources, time and personnel. In addition to cost savings, minimising waste of resources also demonstrates concern about sustainability, which many would consider to be an element of good design.
Reducing Complexity
The form and function of computers, cars, furniture, packaging materials and digital experiences differ greatly. However, good design shares qualities that are not necessarily easy to describe in words, but which we experience in the effect they have upon us. One of the most common characteristics found when looking at good design is simplicity, which should not be confused with simplistic. When a product or service cannot be improved by anything being added or removed, it is likely to be more efficient and intuitive than one which includes unnecessary and confusing details.
We can define, recognise and experience good design. However, the apparent simplicity of good design is difficult to achieve. Reducing a product or service to its essential elements requires a deep level of understanding, so that nothing required is removed and nothing remains unless needed. Good design reduces complexity, brings order to chaos, removes barriers to understanding and provides a good user experience. People like to feel they are in control and they tend to reject poor design, which is difficult to understand or use and causes them too much stress or confusion.
Good design, through reduction of complexity, can be applied to anything that a business does. For example, reducing inefficiencies, developing responsive strategies and managing successful projects. A minimalist approach could involve clear decision making regarding objectives to be achieved, minimal resources required and a realistic schedule, to ensure that tasks are completed in a logical sequence. Use of a minimal viable product (MVP), with only essential features required for user testing, could help a business to reduce unnecessary work and waste. An iterative process could lead to the development of an optimal design and maximise profitability. This approach could be applied to activities as varied as digital marketing, product development, or onboarding and training personnel.