Design Thinking: Wins vs. Fails
So, we are on the topic of Design Thinking. The designs schools of the world are infinite and vast, and if we combined all these different views we could probably fill the entirety of The Library of Congress many times over. For this reason, I am sticking to some basic ideas about design- aesthetic look and the ability to understand/ use the design. Let’s take a look at a few things that I have chanced upon in my travel.
(I’m putting the bad first just because sometimes its more fun)
Probably the Lowest Price in the City!
I think this first is an obvious. Its probably the lowest priced in the city? Well hell, if they aren’t sure how can I be? Do I want to chance it? If that sushi you are eating is probably fresh this week, how would you feel about it? Ok, so I started off with an easy one. This is clearly a ‘bad’ design. More often then not, a “best in the world/state/city” is the first route that a company goes to sell their product. But if they are probably the lowest priced- that just starts off on the wrong foot. This is not exactly a typical look on design as it is not about the visual affect of the sign or the color, this is about content and when it comes to design, content can be just as important as context.
Bilbo’s tub
On the topic of glaringly obvious, unless this is a tub in the house of Little People Big World, it’s obvious that the designer either (1) was probably smoking something while writing out these measurements or (2) just simply didn’t care enough that it was not usable, and would rather have just gotten paid for his job using the dimensions he was given. Either way, at the end of the day, the result is the same. I mocking reminder that the renter actually has a tub, but it might as well just be a stand-up shower.
No middle ground
This is another fun one. Less obvious than the others, but it becomes obvious soon enough when the user turns the taps on. That’s when the dilemma becomes apparent. All cold or all hot? You can only have one easily. Yes, this original design had to do with more practical methods back in the days when there was less technology to heat water for use, but why on god’s green earth are companies still producing these sinks with separate taps? We don’t have to boil water for baths anymore, so why not just make it easy to have lukewarm water??
Good design is obvious, Great design is transparent.
I am a firm believer in this school of thinking. Bad design is blindingly obvious. I can really appreciate good design. But its great design that works so seamlessly with life that it actually becomes part of the background experience that is life. Think about it, do you truly appreciate the chair you are sitting in, or the cup that you are drinking from? These are everyday items that were designed at some point in time (be it ages ago or yesterday) that are so ingrained in our lives that we don’t notice them. How about that subway ad that you don’t remember reading but all you remember is feeling the need to have the product?
So we’ve now had our laughs over design fails. Let’s look at a few things that were a success!
Heinz
I’m originally from Pittsburgh, the birthplace of Heinz, so forgive me for this first one- it was inevitable. The new Heinz Dip & Squeeze ketchup packets. Its not life altering, but it could be up there on your list if you consume more ketchup in a year than is healthy for you (like I do). Think about it, haven’t you ever been stuck trying to dip your individual fried into the darn plastic ketchup pack in order to avoid the unavoidable mess? Or opened three packets of ketchup at a time, squeezed them out and been left with a ketchup-y napkin filled with empty packets (that inevitably get all over your hands)? Well, enter the dip & squeeze. You can either tear off the top to squeeze it out or you can peel back the lid to use it to dip! It even has clear signage to follow to either open by tearing or peeling (gasp!). Thanks, Heinz, it only took you about 43 years since the inception of the ketchup packet to make it better.
Good Product Marketing Design
A slightly different approach, but still all about design. This is an ad for Trident Sugar-Free Gum. I love how the mouths play up the shape of the gum to express the marketing handle of: sugar-free gum is better for your teeth! If you chew this gum, you will be cool, young, hip and happy! The use of the comic-like mouths give a youthful and fun twist to an every-day item, and the color use in both the packaging and the ad makes the white ‘gum teeth’ look all the whiter. Hell, I would want to buy this gum over a Wrigley’s any day.
Form vs. Function
This last item is much more what you might see in a design magazine or for many reasons it reminds me of the very ascetic design views of northern Europe modernism. It is pure mix of clean lines and is the essence of being practical. I believe this is a piece that depending on the viewer, it could be good or bad design. Having lived in a room in New York City for the pat 7 years, where space is a premium and every inch is worth hundreds, I for one appreciate this design. It does not speak to my personal ‘style’ but I believe the design is a good one due to its versatility, clean aesthetic look when in use and not in use, and its ease of use.
Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.” — Paul Rand