Prince Philip on Design
H.R.H. Prince Philip shared his genuine frustration with poor design in this insightful interview upon the 50th anniversary of the Prince Philip Designers Prize. He believes that consumers have become too tolerant of bad design. The next time I’m trying to squirm between the entertainment unit and the wall, with a cable between my teeth, a flashlight in one hand and a wiring diagram in the other, I’ll take comfort in knowing that even the Royal Family shares my pain!
Link to the interview on YouTube
Asked about how design has changed over the past 50 years, Prince Philip replied that the trend to design by corporate or government committee has reduced the chances of producing exceptional designs.
He also feels that designers on contract create more innovative designs than staff designers. This is because a contractor knows that her employment is temporary, while an employee always fears that hers is! Thus employee designers are inclined to play it safe by complying with their employer’s opinions rather than truly expressing themselves. He has observed that success results from giving a designer the authority to make design decisions. I would call this concept "empowerment" and say it's still all too rare, despite being a popular management buzzword.
Seth Godin shows how “This Is Broken”
Seth Godin is a prolific author and blogger on marketing and other business subjects. This is his hilarious presentation about how poor design turns off customers. So many things to learn from here! How can we make these flaws look as obvious to us at the design phase as they look to the user of the finished product?
Link to the video: Seth Godin at Gel 2006 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.
They Didn’t Teach Me Design in Engineering School
They didn’t teach design when I went to engineering school.* It wasn’t until after graduating and beginning work that I was faced with the challenge of coming up with brand new solutions for problems. Figuring out where to start is always the hardest part. A blank document can be the scariest thing in the world!
I once worked with an architect and it was enlightening. You might think there’s a lot of similarity between architects and engineers, but if you do, you’re wrong.
Push, Pull, or imitate Maxwell Smart?
Efficient or lazy? The designer used the same handles on both sides of these doors. The little "PUSH" and "PULL" signs are required reading! Doors are simple - why do designers force us to read instructions to use them?
Have you ever been confused by a door? Push or pull? Which side opens? Is it locked? It’s not your fault! The designer screwed up.
If you’re running a shopping mall or a store or an office, you need customers to come into your building. Unless it has a drive-through or a take-out window, that’s a necessary requirement for business. It’s amazing how often a poor customer experience starts right here. Designers have no excuses. It’s not like doors are new technology. Everybody’s seen and used lots. There must be some best practices guide out there somewhere.
Nobody likes being embarrassed, but it’s hard to look good when you’re colliding with a door that swings opposite to what you were expecting. Do you not tense up when approaching a bank of doors in a large building? Many of us have even developed coping mechanisms just for this situation. I employ logic: look for the hinges and try to devise how the door operates. One of my friends aims between two doors, simultaneously pulling on one and pushing the other. Others hesitate to observe and then imitate the successful users.
