Missing the point. Why something like DailyUI is not such a bad thing.
We have seen these Dribbble shots, these shots that look amazing, but seem to have really bad UX and are hard to imagine as real working products because they are almost impossible to build as a real product and do not seem to be very usable at all. Still these shot’s are very populair, mainly, because they just look really good.
Seeing these pretty pictures on the frontpage of beautiful designs without any focus on usability seems to raise questions from other designers. And I understand why that is, because as designers we aim at creating products that are solving a particular problem. Right?
While I personally agree with the mentality of solving problems being one of the most important responsibilities of a designer, this is not always the full story, and not always the focus of these Dribbble shots. Because way we solve these problems can be vastly different, the outcomes will be as well, and having multiple solutions is the key of thinking why I don’t think having these shots being popular is an issue at all.
If we look at fashion, architecture or automotive design we see impossible ideas all the time, look at a catwalk or a concept car presentation and you will see what I mean, these pieces of clothing aren’t intented to wear to the office, and this prototype car is technically (still) impossible.
The reason these items exist is because they are pushing the boundaries of design in their area. And these kind of presentations inspire a new generation of design. You see it very often that parts of clothing items featured on Catwalk shows as impossible to wear fashion, somehow trickles down into something in actual wearable clothing later on. And a lot of these concept cars had experimental features that then was introduced in prodcution cars 10 years later, and one of the reasons why these features actually got developed is because designers played around with it, sometimes creating demand or introducing the general public to a new way of design thinking.
So, a challenge like DailyUI, where the results seem to be very focused on aesthetics, is not that bad, flexing your visual muscles to create good looking products might not solve a problem, but it does give you, especially as a beginning designer, the freedom explore new visual solutions to problems you might have not faced yet. And maybe, you might be able apply some of the visual ideas you have picked up during the DailyUI challenge in real designs for clients.
So, by taking away usability & UX you suddenly have the endless ability to create completely new and unique visuals, and if that does not excite you as a designer. I don’t know what will!
