Design in the Details
SXSW 2008: Notes from Design is in the Details with Naz Hamid. The slides are very descriptive so be sure to find them if Naz posts them.
This panel isn't about tips and techniques, it is about an approach.
- Critical thinking
- methods
- concepts
- ideas
for doing detailed design.
Tips and techniques fortify the toolkit but critical thinking is most important.
God is in the details and Design is in the details
The small parts make up the whole
You, the designer, are the sum of all parts and so is your design.
Less is more
Editing and being critical about not putting too much in are essential to good design.
This isn't MS Word with all the toolbars on or the cover of a magazine like Details. It is a product like "PINCH" by Craig Berman. Good design is highly functional. The beauty emerges from the functionality.
Examples in food with photos from Alinea, a Halloween costume that Naz designed, and other images of detailed design.
So what about interactive designers? We sit at meetings with the comps on the screen and decision makers start noticing the things that aren't there. People start nit-picking and focussing on the small details that the designer should have taken care of. You go into a meeting thinking that you're 60 or 70% done but that isn't enough. Take it all the way.
So how do you get to this? Here's a handy checklist.
Experiment
Mix and match your ideas to let new things emerge. Don't commit to early. Explore different directions to see what happens. Avoid falling back on what you've done before, on solutions you've seen, by playing.
Princeton example.
Choices
We make choices all the time in design. Pick the simple solution. Pick things that you can defend and explain. Go with what works and what is functional.
Stay consistent
But once you make your choices, stay consistent. Be transparent in your design by holding everything together. Don't give you client an in to critique things you already know how to solve.
Completeness
In a similar vein, make sure that your work is done to the best you can do. Take pride in your work. Your first draft should contain all the details up front and carry that through to the end.
Kellog School of Management example.
Step in, step out step back, balance
Give yourself a break from your work so you can come back and see your work for the first time. Take a few days off and forget about it. Learn to look critically at your own work. Note what stands out and fix the things that look odd. Come back and pay attention to your first impressions because your client will see the flaws too. See your mistakes, your shortcomings, and do something about them.
Take your work all the way but be willing to change it up.
Be your own critic
If you're familiar with the client, the team, and the problem, you have what it takes to see the problem yourself. Take these insights as far as you can. Trust yourself to anticipate questions and come up with answers. Know what people will get hung up on and take that into account.
My note: It seems to me that you want to do this so that showing your work to others involves getting the most from their feedback as possible. If they only tell you things you already know then you are wasting everyone's time and not improving the design.
Yale Library example
Complexity in simplicity; Less is more
This isn't just about stripping things down, this is about leaving in only what is needed. You are delivering a final product not just trying to make yourself happy. Don't use Ajax if you don't have to. Don't just throw in widgets because they are cool, use things that solve the problem.
Showed an early comp for Humanized as an example.
Obsession is healthy
Be willing to look at something for an hour or two. Take the time to do the best you can. Let the problem seep into your mind and carry it with you. Make time to focus on the details.
Q&A
Q. How do you balance this with having a limited number of billable hours?
A. If I'm at the computer, I bill. If I seriously think about if for half an hour or more, I'll bill for that. However, some projects do have limited budgets. If I want to take it the rest of the way, I don't bill the extra time.
Q. What kind of activities do you do to get inspiration?
A. Spend a lot of time on the bike. Cycling is a source of inspiration. It helps with mental clarity. But really you want to look at anything you're interested in. Look for the details in everything you do.
Q: How do you defend the details to a client?
A: If you meet one-to-one its much easier. If it is a large organization there are more people to convince and having everything in place makes the conversation easier. Know why you are doing what you are doing and stand by it.
Q: How do you know when to stop waiting for inspiration?
A: Set a deadline and goal for yourself. Wait for it to come but be ready to go when it hits.
Q: What if you don't have good photos?
A: Make it clear that you need certain things to make it work. Insist that you can't start working of you don't the source material you need.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Design in the Details.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.samfelder.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/322
Who is this guy?
Leave a comment