+ 20.02.2014

GOOD DESIGN

What is bad design? Is there bad design? An article from Sevra Davis (link) brings out that bad design takes many forms and in its worst, it can exacerbate a problem rather than solve it. She also questions if that can even be called design? Bad design can be found everywhere. Specially in amateur electronic design tools, which breeds quantity more than quality; it adds to the complexity and abundance of our world, rather than producing clarity.  The author is questioning if there are principles of bad design that we could learn from, to improve good design, and if bad design is a necessary part of the development of good design (in try and try again principle). Today's designer have the responsibility to promote good design. The professional designer needs to not only increase access to design tools, but also champion good design and raise the overall quality of design.

So what is good design?
Many design-related authors and organizations have been working to answer that question, and quite often made a list of principles good design has to have. Here are some main points that have turned up:

• Innovation
• Useful, functional, ease of use
• Aesthetically pleasing, beautiful
• Understandable, self-explanatory quality
• Discreet
• Honest, sincere
• Long-lasting, durable, enduring
• Thought through to the last detail
• Environmentally friendly, sustainable
• The least design possible
• Accessible
• Well made
• Emotionally resonant
• Positive emotions, narrative, symbols
• Socially beneficial
• Ergonomic
• Affordable
• Formal quality
• Symbolic and emotional content
• Product periphery
• Shape
• Colour
• Fun
• Convenient
• Enriching
• Brighter future for humanity
• Ethics
• Adequate in context
• Originality, surprising, impact
• etc.

For me, I believe, in a row of importance, the list would be following:
1) Functionality, useful, ease of use
I think the most important quality of a product is its usefulness. If a product can't perform what it's supposed to, it has no value. It's just a piece of material.

2) Innovative, degree of innovation
Even when a piece does what it's supposed to, good design would develop a way to improve the functionality. It might be to improve current way of use, or even work out even better way how to do something. Something new about the product is essential to make it good.

3) Aesthetically pleasing
The looks are essential. To have an object which does a good job and in a better way is good, but if I want to hide the object right after I have finished using that, it's not a good design.

4) Positive emotions, narrative, symbols
I believe after good looks, it's important that the product emits positive emotions, and makes the user enjoy and feel happy. Having a fun moment while doing everyday tasks lightens the day, which should be considered more while developing designs.

5) Long-lasting, durable, enduring, high-quality
In this world where so much products have a really short life-cycle, but the resources of Earth are decreasing, the designers have the responsibility to develop products that would serve the user for a long time, in good case for a lifetime or more.

6) Environmentally friendly, sustainable
On the other side, if the peculiarity of the product doesn't allow long life-cycle, the designers should be directed towards environmentally friendly materials and production methods.

7) Understandable, self-explanatory quality
The product has to be understandable. As Don Norman has said, it's OK to learn how to use the product once, maybe twice, but after that the use has to be understandable and logical.