Design: An art or a science?
As with many great debates I have with myself, this one doesn’t have an answer (yet).
To open, I’d like to say that the objective of all design in any field is about creating a stellar user experience (UX). The end goal of any design, be it visual, in the form of products that you can touch and play with, structures and spaces you can live in and films too are all about how a viewer/user/client/customer/moviegoer interacts with and experiences a product (or service). A user centric approach to design, entails an extremely comprehensive study about the user at a deep psychological level. How else can one design something without knowing the constraints(one of them being the user him/her self)?
We often hear that the best design is the one that draws no attention to itself. The best interface is no interface.
Hence, applying User Centered Design to any given project, if executed correctly, would produce the same results regardless of who designed it. It almost makes it likes math. You have a certain set of rules, a certain set of variables and a very definite problem to solve. Sure, identifying the problem is half the game, but there’s a process for that too. Start with the basics, question the fundamentals and build ground up. Forget about thinking outside the box. We’re the ones talking about that box in the first place, but I digress.
If all you have is a formula and its execution, what room does that leave for a designer’s signature? And must (not should) there be a signature at all?
How do you distinguish one great designer from another? Isn’t that a commoditzation (no, that’s not a real word) of design? Where’s the room for a little bit of chaos, a little bit of anarchy and free thinking? Going beyond a linear incremental approach and making leaps?
We looked at the rules as a structure. Fundamentals that resonate with some of us on an intrinsic philosophical level: “Less is more”, “Insight, not information.” This same structure that has proven itself time and again, tells of a great outlook, helping to make sense in a clouded and cluttered world. You can apply a design process to way more than a 4.7 inch touchscreen in your pocket. Think of a problem, apply a design way of thought and you’ll be cracking at it in no time.
Having said that, it’s also a set of finite boundaries within which to operate, and boundaries are only good to a certain extent. They only take you so far. So what about all the radical thinking? The people who have made such a lasting impact on humanity? What of the minds of people who looked beyond and dared to jump?
So, essentially.. What we do, day in, day out.. Is it an Art, or a science? And does the difference even matter?
“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.”
- the guy who discovered Relativity
