Summary: Design isn’t just how something looks, it’s soulful. It’s not just what meets the eye, but what touches the heart. A well-designed product isn’t just aesthetically pleasing, it evokes emotions and creates an unforgettable experience. While a little philisophical that is our baseline for this blog post. The idea is design is about feel, but we get in the way.
Why do most UX design experiences fail?
Practically day to day there is plenty of blame to go around. From middle managers to marketing execs all the way to the top of corporate mount Olympus. Orgs have no one to blame but themselves when they have a tin ear to where market forces are headed. All good design starts with seeking first to understand continually. So the number one reason design fails is because you weren’t listening to user needs.
As an example there are certain personality types that are very rigid when it comes to ideas or processes. If they read something in an article or heard something in a conference then it must be the right way, because they discovered that idea before you did. Because to these types it isn’t about the craft or building cool things, it’s about being right. Reading something or retaining information isn’t going to get you building something interesting or deliver good design. It helps, but it isn’t everything.
Learning about design never stops
Seek first to understand. Don’t make assumptions. Good design ideas don’t always stem from us. In fact most times good ideas find us after we put forth an effort to understand a problem. Good ideas are everywhere. The point of it is finding a good idea and adopting it as your own and push to the finish line.
The process to finding good ideas sometimes starts with not knowing or having any preconceived notions. So don’t limit yourself to what you know now. Because I guarantee you will know more later.
Is there a “right way” to design
The “right way” for one client may be different for another client. Taking an additive approach to design not subtractive is more useful. And that means take nothing away and add everything it needs. There is no right way for everyone. Because there is no right way, there will always be work. Design consulting provides a unique sense of job security for designers – it’s their responsibility to deliver on the results promised, not anyone else’s. Does you solution solve a visual problem and based in empathy?
Good design is everywhere
At the heart of it all, passion and commitment are table stakes, but you have to start with seeking knowledge first directly from users. The real challenge is to spot a good idea and to have the drive to bring it to life when others are concerned about protecting their turf or just being right. Good design is outcome of listening and craft.
Simon is a Product Designer and Front End Dev with over 20 years of experience. He started as a graphic designer and illustrator coding his first website in 1996. He has worked with brands like Publix, Microsoft, and Discovery Channel.
