Reading Time: 2 minOf all of the things that Apple is known for, a major one is simplicity. It seems weird to say it, particularly when talking about complicated, powerful devices like iPhones and Macbooks, but everyone knows that it’s true. When compared to competing devices, Apple’s are almost always simpler to use. This wasn’t just due to […]
Design
Creativity isn’t about writing or drawing
Reading Time: < 1 minI consider myself to be rather creative when it comes to solving problems, but not at all creative when it comes to art. So does that make me “creative” or not? In a fantastic podcast episode of The Futur, Blair Enns referenced Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi with a simple quote that aims to add some clarity to […]
Making good use of lock-in features
Reading Time: 2 minIn the digital world, there are a lot of ways that companies try to lock you in. They may give you a pop-up when you try to leave a site to entice you to stay. They may offer a discount if you try to unsubscribe from their mailing list. They might create an unnecessarily long […]
Process drives outcomes
Reading Time: < 1 minSolid processes can be difficult to build, and perhaps a bit boring to follow, but a lack of processes can make it difficult to reach your goals. In his book “Win Without Pitching“, author Blair Enns mentions this concept a few times, summarized here: In almost any of our repeated endeavors, it is the strength […]
When creativity helps the most
Reading Time: < 1 minCreativity can be a double-edged sword. While it’s often a very good thing, if used excessively or carelessly it can lead to trouble. As David Ogilvy has said: “When I write an advertisement, I don’t want you to tell me that you find it ‘creative.’ I want you to find it so interesting that you […]
Design is how it works
Reading Time: < 1 minGood design can be hard to notice. Not because it’s so beautiful or creative, but because of how well it makes things work. A well-designed product is ideally beautiful and creative, but the true design comes from the function of it. In an article in the New York Times 20 years ago, just after the […]
No one will be there to explain it to the customer
Reading Time: < 1 minWhen it comes to design and marketing, being able to explain and justify your decisions is a good thing. You shouldn’t be creating anything that just “looks nice”, and everything should have a purpose. At the end of the day, though, you’re not going to be able to explain things to your end user — […]
Design isn’t veneer
Reading Time: < 1 minDesign is a tricky thing, and it’s often misunderstood. Most people think of design in terms of “beautiful colors”, but design is less about how something looks and more about how people respond to it. As he often does, Steve Jobs put it perfectly: “In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s […]
Is it clever or self-indulgent?
Reading Time: < 1 minThere is a fine line between a design that is clever and one that is self-indulgent, and they often fall to the latter. As Don Norman said in “The Design of Everyday Things“: “Rule of thumb: if you think something is clever and sophisticated beware-it is probably self-indulgence.” Ultimately, though, it doesn’t really matter which […]
Good design is hard to notice
Reading Time: < 1 minA few days ago I shared the concept of Norman Doors, which are doors that can be confusing to open. When you come across a typical door and push the flat plate to open it, it just works and you don’t really notice it. However, when you come to a door with a handle on […]