Understanding Subjectivity in Design
by Design Human, Paul Bean
This last Christmas morning, I rediscovered the childlike freedom of whooping out loud when opening a gift, as I tore the paper off of my very own copy of ‘Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible’. Thumbing through (and yes, smelling!) the pages, I paused at the familiar 10 principles of good design.
With my hands on the cover, gently running my fingers over the pattern of the High-Build Spot-UV dots (aka small clear bumps), a thought ran through my mind which I wanted to explore.
The very book, all about the master of stripping away the non-essentials, with his crescendo point reading “10. Good design is as little design as possible: Less but better — because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with inessentials. Back to putrity, back to simplicity!” and it has this textured cover of small bumps.
A small point, maybe, but having my hands on the cover with this added texture had me ask myself; are they required to make the book function? No. Is it less effective with them added? Again, no. Are they beautiful? Yes, absolutely. Do they entice me to run my hands over the cover? Yes. Do they, in that case, enhance my enjoyment of the book? You know what, they do!
So not essential for function, but they most certainly enhance the overall experience.
My mind continues to unravel the topic, which has cropped up in articles and blog posts now and again, but my take on it this time, was around understanding and potentially negating the negative and often damaging effects of subjectivity in the design process.
Where do we find subjectivity in the design process?
In my experience, it often revolves around the communication of a concept and in particular, a lack of communication.
One example of this, is when starting a project with a client, a conversation takes place to understand the requirements, the personalities of the people and the business as a whole, and the desired results / outcomes are noted.
Some initial work takes place deploying a library of knowledge and experience to work through the conceptual stage of the project, filtering possible outcomes based on context and appropriateness.
Presentations happen in windowless rooms, so it’s important to keep letting the outside world in — Michael Bierut
As Michael Bierut alludes, presentation with a client, is about mindset. If they expect one thing, and are presented with something different, an immediate reaction may be dislike, simply because expectations have not been met.
An end user however, didn’t know the brief, so the outcome must be viewed through their eyes. If the presentation to the client, unpacks the solution, framing it in the wider context, it will make more sense, and is much more likely to receive the desired reception.
Familiarity helps acceptance. This is why change can often be viewed with fear and rejection. As context changes, so too, can, and do our opinions.
One of the most ubiquitous examples is the Nike Swoosh. At the point of its original design, Nike’s founders weren’t hugely impressed. Only after applying it to their shoes, it gaining a following with users, and then marketing agencies binding Nike and the swoosh with the very idea of athletic achievement, did it then begin to win affection.
Helping to negate the impact of subjectivity.
Some clients want to have input in the outcome of a design, that’s important to manage early and head on. Including them in the process, is a controllable and generally fruitful exercise.
A client very often holds a good portion of the solution in their mind. It’s our job to tease that information out, deconstruct it, understand it, and then piece it back together in a format which communicates it clearly and appropriately for the audience at hand.
If design is to respond to our needs and wants, it must find new ways of delivering the choices we crave, even though this will demand radical shifts in design practice. — Alice Rawsthorn
Following rules around proportion, layout, and hierarchy will help a design ‘feel’ right, at a base level and then what the individual brings to the reception of that completed design, in terms of personal experiences, preferences and cultural biases will render a different reaction.
Everyone has different experiences and knowledge, and, everyone will be evaluating design using slightly different criteria. Some may care most about how it works, some about how it looks and makes them feel. Others evaluate based on both or something completely different.
Whilst reading some more about the topic, I came across an article by José Torre where he wrote about How to identify Good Design in 6 steps and these are the steps he offers:
1. Is the design effective?
2. Does it reflect the right tone?
3. Does it stand the test of time?
4. Is it frictionless?
5. Is it visually appealing?
6. 1+1=3?
And it’s this point 6. Which holds the keys to the secret sauce, as José says “To reveal if a design has more than the sum of its parts you just need to look closely. Essentially this is when a design goes beyond a combination of good typography and colours, it’s when there’s a brilliant idea that supports everything and takes it to a whole new level.”
Closing thoughts.
Design isn’t an exact science. It’s and understanding of what a person (or team) feels is the most appropriate solution to the problem, based on their knowledge, experience, current best practice and context.
In an age of seemingly limitless design choices, picking the right ones will be more important than ever. — Alice Rawsthorn
The best chance we have as a Group Of Humans, to help the most powerful design survive the client and thrive in the real world, is to collaborate honestly, create competently, and communicate concepts clearly.
Imagination and energy may be innate traits, but precision and craftsmanship are skills that can only be mastered through hard practice.- Michael Bierut
I’d love to hear your thoughts on how subjectivity has impacted projects you’ve worked on and what strategies you’ve employed to manage it.
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