Art in Design: How to captivate users through exquisite design.
Great design is dependent on two things:
→ Clear and engaging communication
→ Presented in a delightful way
Charles and Ray Eames portrayed communication through the idea of signal vs. noise. The message being delivered is the signal. Anything that amplifies that signal improves communication. Everything else that interferes with that signal destroys communication, creating noise. Design should reduce noise and amplify the signal. Generally, this means using the fewest elements for maximum effect. This is why so many designers choose minimalism as an approach to design.
IBM, and many other companies, have built design systems that achieve a minimalist aesthetic to ensure successful communication and user functionality. If we’re lucky to have an adept content team or clear product flow, we will have the ingredients for “good design” — which is enough for most people.
To accomplish “great design” we must add delight to that clear communication. This act of building delight into our work can push design into the realm of art.
The idea that designing is also an act of creating art makes the practice of design all the more valuable to businesses and society. As designers, we must be working-experts in creativity, conceptual thinking, and media just as much as experts in layout, typography, and draftsmanship.
The design team at IBM Research is constantly striving for artful design, both in the branded experiences we create and our collaboration with the research teams inventing new technologies. We’re playing with new forms of media and generative processes in our image making. Our designers express themselves through the development of posters and artwork for our network of global labs. We’re making limited edition swag and merchandise to build community. We’re stretching ourselves in all forms of design to impact research projects at every stage, from the industrial design of upcoming hardware to brainstorming new tech.
This methodology of art in design was on vibrant display during IBM’s first wave of design transformation in the 1960s—through the work of Eames, Rand, Noyes, Saarinen and many others. The output during this time shaped the brand, influenced customer experiences, and guided the direction of the company. It was both visually engaging and technologically progressive. Today, we strive toward the same goal of artful design.
Here are some things you can do to achieve this same goal:
Spend time absorbing art and design
- See a show at your local museum. For those of us near NYC (who are also Stranger Things fans), visit the Louise Bourgeois exhibit at the Met
- Learn some art history. These are great books for a visual overview of art and design history
- Watch artists create
- Make something yourself
Leverage new media in your next project
- Learn generative art with Processing
- Explore TouchDesigner
- See what others are working on
- Learn kinetic typography
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Ryan Mellody is the Creative Director for IBM Research. The above article is personal and does not necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.
