Our experiences in design shape our beliefs on design. Here are a few ideas I have found to be true:
No design is ever perfect or complete.
User needs, client considerations, market trends, and societal constructs are always changing. Even the most successful designs should be reassessed periodically in order to maintain their relevance.
Empathy is essential in design.
Successful design originates from a personal concern that eclipses any skill, talent, or creatvity. It should be possible for a user to notice care and attention in the products they use and interact with.
There is no replacement for process or proper research.
Good designers are good listeners. Informed questions prevent assumptions from being made. Only when ideas are tested and iterated can they improve.
Material choice and treatment is as crucial as form.
Surface treatment, texture, and color either work for a design or against it. Careful consideration of materials or manufacturing processes allow good ideas to be fully realized.
Design is evolving and experience centered design is the new standard.
As technological development continues to accelerate, fewer things are left to differentiate designs. Functionality and usability are assumed in most of the products we buy. The optimization of experience through design characterizes a critical differentiating edge.
Technology should enable a design without defining it.
Newer, faster, stronger, and more efficient products are not inherently better. Technology becomes irrelevant if it interferes with a product's usability.
Multidisciplinary collaboration is vital to success.
When engineers, marketers, and other designers participate in the development process, a rich environment of different perspecitves emerges. A cooperative design approach creates checks and balances that promote success and result in designs that better serve the client and consumer.
