What is good design?

What is good design?

Lots of debates have been done in finding an answer to this question. Many design schools discuss some of the ten points written by the famous designer Dieter Rams. Lots of students ask me about my views on this question about good design. I am sharing some of my personal views on good design here. Standard disclaimer: Please do NOT approach this as a list which, if followed, will meet all requirements of a good design.

There are two very very ambiguous, tricky and undefined words in the question we are attempting to answer here :

Two words: Good and Design.

The word “Good” is a subjective term. If a design meets a specific number of conditions listed in a document written by a human being (or even god) cannot be termed as “Good” because the concept and definition of this word varies considerably from person to person. This word depends heavily on several defined as well as undefined or undefinable parameters. Some of the defined parameters which makes a design good are listed later in this note.

The word “Design” is also a term with lots of blurred boundaries. As far as I know, I have not come across a definition which can explain to the layperson what is “design”. There are thousands of definitions of the word “design”, but none of them can explain an activity which, according to me, encompasses creation of everything around us. It is like the work of “Brahma”, god of creation, which actually is linked with everything we use, knowingly and unknowingly, from the time we are born to our last transformation from the physical to atoms and then thin air. After all, the machine which transforms the dead body to ashes is also designed by someone and we are using design even after we die!

Now, let me make an attempt at listing down a few pointers which may serve as lamp posts for young designers who want to find an answer to the question “what is good design”.

1.    A good design studies, understands and reflects upon the context of design activity. This important activity, of studying the context, past, present and future of the final product, its users and the environment naturally will create a bonding between the designer and the act of design. The designer arrives at his/her own viewpoint and reflects upon each design decision as the work progresses by detaching himself/herself away from the activity by zooming out.

2.    Good design looks at the user from the same level, not from above and not from below. There are two extremes possible, one in which the designer plays the boss (like iPod): saying that “I know what is good for you, so you take this and use it”. Other one is where we treat the client and the user as supreme beings: saying that “ Lord, whatever you say is my truth!”. It is very common sight today, we see so many frustrated designers lamenting that their final design solution went bad because the “client said so!” Good design strikes the fine balance between the two and is sensitive to the needs of the user in the context of that design activity.

3.    Good design is built on common sense. A designer can solve lots of problems just by putting on the thinking hat of common sense. Human beings with more focus on creativity, due to the way we are created by god as per the funda of left brain and right brain, tend to get carried away by factors like aesthetic brilliance, or the ultimate bliss a creative person gets when we create something absolutely beautiful, or the applause, fame, money, celebrity status and euphoria some designers achieve that we miss out on some basic things which a person with a bit of common sense would have shown. The classic example is the story of the toothpaste brand, which wanted to improve sales urgently. One peon in their office asked “Why don’t you increase the size of the hole in the nozzle of the toothpaste tube, so that the customers will finish it faster?”. That was common sense at its best.

4.    Benchmarks: Good design benchmarks itself. If problems of an existing product are articulated well and the designer can extrapolate the future of the product in the correct context, design can create its own benchmarks. This results in clarity of thought process while dealing with design options in the iteration stage

5.    Sensitivity: Good design approaches different practical parameters with seriousness and sensitivity. We should ask these questions ourselves about our final design solution.
Does it meet the requirements of the user? Is it affordable? Is it sustainable? Will it hurt the environment? Can my user afford this product? Can the user use the product comfortably and will the product deliver all the things expected out of it? How does the product affect the user on a psychological level?

6.    Good design finds the correct balance between Functionality and Aesthetic brilliance. We don’t want to make the most beautiful pen in the world which doesn’t write well, isn’t it?

7.    Good design is very often silent: Most of the projects do not require design that attracts attention to itself or too loud that the attention it gets obstructs the basic function it was meant for. A good example is the newspaper: If its design is too loud that the reader gets carried away by the design, who will read the news? If the wedding card design takes too much attention than the name of the bride and groom, then what is the point?

8.    Good design is aware about the users’ mind. Good design is very clear about what happens in the mind of its user- is it decipheration or is it interpretation? A good signage will not give any scope for interpretation, it will clearly say what it stands for, without any fuss.

…..to be continued