My Design Philosophy

For my Human-Computer Interaction class’ final assignment, we have been asked to reflect on what we have learned throughout the course. We’ve studied both cognitive and design principles covering topics such as discoverability, constraints, inclusivity, accessibility, human-centered design, iterative design, color, alignment, proximity, and more. We’ve critiqued designs, redesigned websites, created chatbots, devised gestural inputs using Leap Motion, and have attempted to devise solutions for unsolved problems in HCI.

What is good design?

For me, good design is both beautiful and functional. Functionality is obtained by restraining and reducing until only what is needed is left. A popular opinion seems to be that functionality is beautiful in itself since it has achieved design purity and that aesthetics come second. I think that if a design is functional and not visually appealing, people won’t love using it. It may be naive to think that both functionality and beauty can be achieved, but I think setting the bar lower (ie. preferring beauty or functionality) will hurt a design.

Good design is an enjoyable and seamless experience that prioritizes the user. Designers should make an effort to get to know their users rather than assuming what the users want. As a design novice, I have found this to be an easy trap to fall into. If an assumption is going to be made, verify it through research, user testing, and studying users’ interactions with the product.

Good design also takes into account what kind of user will be using their product and their background. Are they IT professionals? The general public? The design should be created with the audience and community in mind. If it’s being designed for everyone and anyone, it should be easy to learn and use; designers should aim for as little friction as possible in the users’ interactions. If you’re designing for a particular audience and community like IT professionals, you know they are tech savvy and have a deeper working knowledge of technical domains.

How do I create good design?Having only tried my hand at design for one semester, my personal process for creating good design is being formulated but, I’ll start with this:

Design evolves with time so what is considered good design is also going to change. My own personal desires and expectations are ever-changing, so I should expect users to do the same. To meet this dynamic desire, designers should make many iterations as part of their process and get user feedback to inform the subsequent iteration. Due to this, a design is never perfect, so don’t fall in love with your first idea. I can get so excited about my initial idea for a project, but when I look back and reflect, I’ll see the error in my ways.

I also think that if I really want to create great designs, it has to be done in a group as a collaborative effort. Others have perspectives and experiences unique from my own that I won’t even think to consider. Our best ideas came from bringing up problems to each other and thinking of solutions together. One group member would have a suggestion, which would spur another idea from someone else. Bouncing off each other's ideas, got us to a product that we wouldn’t have been able to create on our own.