Can ugly things qualify as good design?
Inspired by “The functional beauty of ugly things”
Recently, my friend and Design Director at Medium, Ritwik Dey, wrote a memorable post about the functional beauty of ugly things. In it, he reflects on a portable hand shower he purchased from Home Depot, an object that fulfills its purpose with no frills. It isn’t aesthetically pleasing, nor does it have smart affordances to install or use. He says -
Maybe there is a place for these functional-but-ugly things in the world. The pragmatist in me certainly thinks so; the designer in me is uncomfortable.
I’ve been there. I’m often trying to find the more elegant looking, cleverly designed version of the basic thing. My Instagram clearly knows this, and there’s entire websites now dedicated to curating more tasteful versions of objects ready to be purchased by design conscious consumers like me. But what about the opposite? Perhaps we should also recognize products that focus purely on functional design over beauty, and few other products embody this more perfectly than the Monobloc chair.
Growing up in India, I rarely gave a thought to these chairs. They were cheap, and they were everywhere. They made for good patio furniture, they were a staple at large gatherings like weddings, and even used for seating in homes. But only after traveling more in my adult life did I realize how globally ubiquitous the Monobloc chair is.
It’s not hard to understand why. The Monobloc checks a lot of product design boxes. It’s easy to build — a single piece of injection moulded thermoplastic, no assembly required. It’s lightweight but sturdy. It’s flexible. It’s comfortable enough. It stacks. It’s light and easy to transport. It’s weather resistant. Most importantly, it’s very cheap, and therefore accessible to most. From a purely functional standpoint, it’s a pretty impressive design solution.
Are beautiful aesthetics, intricate craftsmanship and quality materials required for good design? In other words, does good design need both good form and good function? Early in my design career, I was sure they were. Now, I think differently. Perhaps sometimes, a design can be great based on function alone.
