ikoo: julien bergignat
photography: kareem king
is "good design" in the eye of the beholder?
This morning I was inspired by a blog post that a friend of mine [ bkmacdaddy designs ] http://bkmacdaddy.com - entitled "Is Good Design In The Eye Of The Beholder?" ... Here is a link to the actual deal... http://tr.im/eyeofthebeholder
After I read the blog post, which in my opinion was one of the most profound post written as it pertains to the subject of "what IS good design". In his post [ bkmacdaddy ] drops a LOT of science, and at the end of reading the post I was clear on where he stood. I was compelled. I was compelled because even though the post was elegantly written it never really took me out of the frame of mind that says that design is simply about aesthetic beauty and function, with a emphasis on aesthetics, or as I like to say... "Pretty Things." So in response to his post, which I recommend that you read BEFORE you continue with my post here, because you will have a better understanding of what I am talking about ... Here is the link again ... http://tr.im/eyeofthebeholder This my comment... In The Hands Of The Beuser?Great post...
I am not sure if I am the best person to be commenting on this because my views about "good design" can be rather counter intuitive at times... BUT let me offer a spin on this.
In this post we are looking at key factors of design, of course, aesthetics and functionality. This is good. However; what happens when we are talking about the design of a system? OR a cause? What about the design of a new way of doing things, like travel? I would not consider a train OR its tracks to be "pretty" or "beautiful" HOWEVER; I would consider what it does to be GORGEOUS... Sailing across the land, no hills, no bumps, sailing? A train? In the eye of the beholder.
When talking about design, I challenge you, I challenge every designer, and aspiring designer to look at things through a much bigger lens... As designers we have reduced our field of expertise to creating "pretty things" and we have somewhat broken our true roles in the earth..."The true value proposition of a designer is the way that he or she thinks... There is power in design thinking."
So what is good design? In my opinion, it has some to do with the aesthetics, form and functionality of a "thing" - however; I am also lead to believe that "good design", better yet, "REMARKABLE design", upon execution and deployment, has a profound effect on how we interact with each other and the world around us. SO with that said... If the website that you create does not make the lives of those using it more fulfilling, you have missed the mark somewhere. IF The chair you are crafting does not fundamentally challenge the way we have always sat down, perhaps you hit the mark with "good design" athletically and functionally (as we know it) BUT have you done something remarkable?
Food for thought I suppose...
Thanks bkmacdaddy!! Thanks for keeping design in the forefront!!
how ideas happen... action.
religion: design
"Design is treated like a religion at BMW..." - Fortune Magazine
richard branson: leveraging design in business
"Every new product or service that Virgin group offers must: (1) Have the best quality, (2) provide great value, (3) be innovative, (4) dramatically challenge existing alternatives, and (5) provide a "sense of fun" or "cheekiness."
sir ernest hall: the power of design
"Design is about demonstrating how beautiful something can be. It has a very profound capacity. Design is a way of changing life and influencing the future..."










