THE DAZZLE OF DESIGN
I have never ceased to appreciate the power of design. I rejoice over design that makes life easier and more productive. I delight in designs that capture my attention. I savor experiencing the smart design of technological gadgets. I marvel at the elegant, subtle design that sneaks up on me, arriving unnoticed until it has done its job.
Design will make or break a product. Design can radically improve efficiencies, refine quality, and save lives. Design can alter the course of a business or kill a company.
We are continuously and ubiquitously affected by design. We can never escape design. Whether we want it or not, we are all captive to design. The only question is what kind of design will we face?
Those who have special insight into design are a valuable asset to us. Equally essential to recognizing design’s importance, is recruiting others to its cause. I think this is why Steve Jobs was as successful as he was. He had a passionate commitment to superior design for which he was able to invite and incite others (Chris Anderson “The Shared Genius of Elon Musk and Steve Jobs” Fortune , December 9, 2013, pp. 98–108):
“ Jobs credited part of his success to the calligraphy class he took at Reed College. Its significance went far beyond the elegant fonts that were included in the first Apple laser printers. Jobs was obsessed with design elegance. Any unnecessary complexity or ugliness deeply offended him. That, combined with his insights into technological possibility and his powers for passionate persuasion, made him preternaturally effective. Certain product possibilities became, in his mind, ‘insanely great’ because they were simultaneously powerful and beautiful. ” (p. 104)
That is the dazzle of design.
