19 May 2007
11 May 2006
Design Primer
Design Quickstart
Introduction
If you are the type who prefers to read "quickstart" documents rather than complete manuals, this little essay is for you. Here I present 8 design rules of thumb which in sum cover most of what you need to know in order to do good design.
I developed these "rules" from jokes I heard around the studio in design school. Design school was a very intense place and we students spent nearly all of our waking hours together in the studio pushing each other to do better. We knew that at times we were taking ourselves far too seriously and so this list of rules began as a way to poke fun at our own intensity. Given the incredible amount of work we were doing it seemed immensely funny to us if in fact we could sum up all you needed to know about design in a few sentences.
Because all that context is missing here, I have included a brief explication along with each rule. I know everyone will understand that none of these rules are "true," but I thought a little explanation might make it easier to see that each rule contains just enough truth to be useful.
Design Rules
Rule 1: If you can't fix it, feature it.
This is describing the condition wherein some aspect, condition, or feature just won't fit into your carefully conceived design strategy. If you force it to fit, or ignore the fact that it is not fitting, this will be glaringly obvious to anyone observing your design. This rule suggests that the way around this problem is to make the thing that is sticking out the central feature of your design.
Rule 2: If you are going to miss, miss by a mile.
This rule is about intention. It says that everything you do should look like you meant to do it. Things line up precisely or not at all. Colors match exactly or complement. Corners are 90° and circles are perfect; almost square and nearly round is purely amateurish.
You might be thinking that this rule is a lot like #1, but the difference is that #1 is about planning and this one is about execution. It says be realistic. Don't make a design that requires perfect execution unless you can guarantee the execution will in fact be perfect. Plan for imperfection. Pick up any thing made of plastic and look for a seam where two parts come together. You will see that the seam has been emphasized, made wider than need be, to hide the fact that the surfaces of the two parts are not exactly even and if brought completely together would not have met exactly flush. This is called a parting line (or a reveal) and it is a common example of intentionally missing by a mile.
Rule 3: When you don't know what to do, make it big. If you can't make it big, make it red.
Basically, this rule says be bold. Bold is always more interesting than timid. There are times when bold is not appropriate, but if you know that is true, then you know what to do, so this rule doesn't apply.
This rule also says that there are multiple ways to be bold, and if one way is blocked, try another. A related point is that it is OK to have a process. To avoid getting stuck, you can have a canned technique to trying alternative approaches. Here that means trying big, then trying red. These are just metaphors for a process of experimentation. A process does not mean that your design will be formulaic, but rather that you will always have something else up your sleeve.
This rule does have a cynical side which is that things like bigness or redness will often cause such an impression on the observer that he will miss serious defects in the design (e.g. the fact that you don't know what to do). It is unethical and frankly evil to rely on these kinds of tricks, but using, not abusing, the psychology of perception is a big part of succeeding as a designer.
Rule 4: Less is more, except when less is a bore.
Trying to find a place somewhere between Mies van der Rohe and Robert Venturi, this is the argument for minimalism, but not minimalism just for its own sake. In general, simpler is better. Simpler is easier to understand, easier to make, easier to modify. Less usually looks better, and wears better over the long term. On the other hand, push less too far and you end up with nothing.
For example, have you experienced an exceedingly minimalist living room? It's the one with the stark white walls, the glass and chrome coffee table, and the flawless leather couch. The room is beautiful to look at, and photographs well, but completely useless as a place to relax with friends. In this house everyone ends up hanging out in the kitchen.
Rule 5: Make big mistakes.
Number 5 emphasizes the value of failure. Most of the people I meet are terrified of failure which is a pity because failing is the best way to learn. Failing spectacularly is a particularly great way to learn.
You can't be a designer if you are unwilling to try things which might not work. Design means going some place you haven't been before. Nothing works the first time. Period. The only way to learn how to make it work is to fail that first time (and possibly second or third time), learn from your mistakes and try again. I am not saying that you should try to fail; I am saying that you need to see failing as an essential part of succeeding.
Rule 6. If you love it, leave it out.
I actually learned this rule from my high school English teacher. His argument was that if you fall in love with a sentence you have written you should immediately cut it out. If not you will bend what you are trying to say all over the place just to keep that one sentence.
Although painful to apply this rule is tremendously liberating. My experience is that as soon as I make the cut I see a number of ideas and solutions that had been obscured. In the end I might bring the loved one back, but if I do I know that it truly fits.
Rule 7: The three keys to good design: details, details, details.
An obvious parody of the real estate joke that makes the same point: there is really only one important thing about a design and that is how well the details are worked out. The only way that something can be really nice is if every detail is really nice.
Rule 8: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Everyone knows this one, but it is worth repeating because it helps you keep your focus. The hardest part of any design project is figuring out what exactly is the problem that needs to be solved. There are always a number of potential candidates and you can use this rule to eliminate some of them. People often are overly attracted to the new and will discard things which are perfectly good just because they are old. Rule #8 should keep this kind of thing in check.
Difficulties in applying this rule stem from the fact that whether or not something is broken is nearly always going to be a matter of opinion. When you encounter a situation in which people are resistant to the changes you want to make, remember this rule. These people are only going to support you if you can convince them that the situation is, in fact, broken.
Conclusion
Contrary to most teachings on design, in these of rules of thumb, the user is conspicuously absent. Each of the rules above is a prescriptive of what you, as a designer, should do. In none of these do I suggest that you find out what other people want, need or think that you should do. I take this approach because this is meant as a design quickstart and it is my experience that people who read quickstarts will not have the patience to ask a lot of questions of other people before they start doing. While this is often the path to design disaster, I have a remedy.
If you are the sort who would read a design quickstart, and who would design as if your concerns are the only ones of import, I urge you to do so in a completely pure manner. By this I mean be clear from the get go that what you are doing you are doing for yourself. Do not pretend to have anyone else's interests at heart. Make sure to tell the rest of us that what you have done represents your opinion of the best thing that can be done.
If you do this, if you take responsibility for every aspect of your design, you are bound to do a good job. In fact, it may turn out that what you made works pretty well for the rest of us. And in the case that it doesn't, we will not be disappointed because you have been clear about your motivations from the start. We will respect the contribution to good design that you have made, and may be able to use your ideas in creating our own solutions.
Design Quickstart
Introduction
If you are the type who prefers to read "quickstart" documents rather than complete manuals, this little essay is for you. Here I present 8 design rules of thumb which in sum cover most of what you need to know in order to do good design.
I developed these "rules" from jokes I heard around the studio in design school. Design school was a very intense place and we students spent nearly all of our waking hours together in the studio pushing each other to do better. We knew that at times we were taking ourselves far too seriously and so this list of rules began as a way to poke fun at our own intensity. Given the incredible amount of work we were doing it seemed immensely funny to us if in fact we could sum up all you needed to know about design in a few sentences.
Because all that context is missing here, I have included a brief explication along with each rule. I know everyone will understand that none of these rules are "true," but I thought a little explanation might make it easier to see that each rule contains just enough truth to be useful.
Design Rules
Rule 1: If you can't fix it, feature it.
This is describing the condition wherein some aspect, condition, or feature just won't fit into your carefully conceived design strategy. If you force it to fit, or ignore the fact that it is not fitting, this will be glaringly obvious to anyone observing your design. This rule suggests that the way around this problem is to make the thing that is sticking out the central feature of your design.
Rule 2: If you are going to miss, miss by a mile.
This rule is about intention. It says that everything you do should look like you meant to do it. Things line up precisely or not at all. Colors match exactly or complement. Corners are 90° and circles are perfect; almost square and nearly round is purely amateurish.
You might be thinking that this rule is a lot like #1, but the difference is that #1 is about planning and this one is about execution. It says be realistic. Don't make a design that requires perfect execution unless you can guarantee the execution will in fact be perfect. Plan for imperfection. Pick up any thing made of plastic and look for a seam where two parts come together. You will see that the seam has been emphasized, made wider than need be, to hide the fact that the surfaces of the two parts are not exactly even and if brought completely together would not have met exactly flush. This is called a parting line (or a reveal) and it is a common example of intentionally missing by a mile.
Rule 3: When you don't know what to do, make it big. If you can't make it big, make it red.
Basically, this rule says be bold. Bold is always more interesting than timid. There are times when bold is not appropriate, but if you know that is true, then you know what to do, so this rule doesn't apply.
This rule also says that there are multiple ways to be bold, and if one way is blocked, try another. A related point is that it is OK to have a process. To avoid getting stuck, you can have a canned technique to trying alternative approaches. Here that means trying big, then trying red. These are just metaphors for a process of experimentation. A process does not mean that your design will be formulaic, but rather that you will always have something else up your sleeve.
This rule does have a cynical side which is that things like bigness or redness will often cause such an impression on the observer that he will miss serious defects in the design (e.g. the fact that you don't know what to do). It is unethical and frankly evil to rely on these kinds of tricks, but using, not abusing, the psychology of perception is a big part of succeeding as a designer.
Rule 4: Less is more, except when less is a bore.
Trying to find a place somewhere between Mies van der Rohe and Robert Venturi, this is the argument for minimalism, but not minimalism just for its own sake. In general, simpler is better. Simpler is easier to understand, easier to make, easier to modify. Less usually looks better, and wears better over the long term. On the other hand, push less too far and you end up with nothing.
For example, have you experienced an exceedingly minimalist living room? It's the one with the stark white walls, the glass and chrome coffee table, and the flawless leather couch. The room is beautiful to look at, and photographs well, but completely useless as a place to relax with friends. In this house everyone ends up hanging out in the kitchen.
Rule 5: Make big mistakes.
Number 5 emphasizes the value of failure. Most of the people I meet are terrified of failure which is a pity because failing is the best way to learn. Failing spectacularly is a particularly great way to learn.
You can't be a designer if you are unwilling to try things which might not work. Design means going some place you haven't been before. Nothing works the first time. Period. The only way to learn how to make it work is to fail that first time (and possibly second or third time), learn from your mistakes and try again. I am not saying that you should try to fail; I am saying that you need to see failing as an essential part of succeeding.
Rule 6. If you love it, leave it out.
I actually learned this rule from my high school English teacher. His argument was that if you fall in love with a sentence you have written you should immediately cut it out. If not you will bend what you are trying to say all over the place just to keep that one sentence.
Although painful to apply this rule is tremendously liberating. My experience is that as soon as I make the cut I see a number of ideas and solutions that had been obscured. In the end I might bring the loved one back, but if I do I know that it truly fits.
Rule 7: The three keys to good design: details, details, details.
An obvious parody of the real estate joke that makes the same point: there is really only one important thing about a design and that is how well the details are worked out. The only way that something can be really nice is if every detail is really nice.
Rule 8: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Everyone knows this one, but it is worth repeating because it helps you keep your focus. The hardest part of any design project is figuring out what exactly is the problem that needs to be solved. There are always a number of potential candidates and you can use this rule to eliminate some of them. People often are overly attracted to the new and will discard things which are perfectly good just because they are old. Rule #8 should keep this kind of thing in check.
Difficulties in applying this rule stem from the fact that whether or not something is broken is nearly always going to be a matter of opinion. When you encounter a situation in which people are resistant to the changes you want to make, remember this rule. These people are only going to support you if you can convince them that the situation is, in fact, broken.
Conclusion
Contrary to most teachings on design, in these of rules of thumb, the user is conspicuously absent. Each of the rules above is a prescriptive of what you, as a designer, should do. In none of these do I suggest that you find out what other people want, need or think that you should do. I take this approach because this is meant as a design quickstart and it is my experience that people who read quickstarts will not have the patience to ask a lot of questions of other people before they start doing. While this is often the path to design disaster, I have a remedy.
If you are the sort who would read a design quickstart, and who would design as if your concerns are the only ones of import, I urge you to do so in a completely pure manner. By this I mean be clear from the get go that what you are doing you are doing for yourself. Do not pretend to have anyone else's interests at heart. Make sure to tell the rest of us that what you have done represents your opinion of the best thing that can be done.
If you do this, if you take responsibility for every aspect of your design, you are bound to do a good job. In fact, it may turn out that what you made works pretty well for the rest of us. And in the case that it doesn't, we will not be disappointed because you have been clear about your motivations from the start. We will respect the contribution to good design that you have made, and may be able to use your ideas in creating our own solutions.
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