Dear World,
After a week of my Customer Insights class, a few readings, my professor and guest lecturer Jeff Mulhausen have opened my eyes up to the world of design that I never really knew about.
Jeff’s presentation consisted of a list of designers in the past that have impacted the world of design today. I was surprised to find out that so many designers in the past created their own philosophies that changed the idea of design over the course of time. The designer that I found most interesting during the presentation was Dieter Rams. His philosophy was a very simple one - “a good design is as little design as possible.” I found this particularly interesting because when I think of the word design, I think of animations, graphics, patterns, shapes, colors, and everything in between. Growing up, I wanted to be an interior designer for a short period of time. I always imagined I would design rooms with extravagant table pieces, curtains and ropes, vases of all shapes and sizes, fancy couches, and include at least a color scheme consisting of ten different colors. Thankfully I never pursued this dream because I soon realized that I had no talent in designing anything. I look at IKEA display rooms today and realize that you can be a lot more effective with simpler designs. IKEA room displays include as little as a chair/sofa, a table, a carpet, and a cabinet or shelf on the wall here and there, and they look amazing! Designs carry beyond rooms and displays too. Everyone passes by simply designed logos everyday that we can identify without even seeing the company name under it. Take Target Corporation for example. When you see a red circle with a red dot in the middle of it, you automatically think of Target. If you see a burnt orange longhorn on someone’s shirt or car, you know that they are a fan of The University of Texas. Even clothing companies are using simple designs to capture their consumers’ attentions. When you see A&F on a shirt, you know it is Abercrombie and Fitch. AE is American Eagle, and CK is Calvin Klein.
Just as incorporating design into our marketing practice is important, I feel that sometimes we focus too much on the design part and end up hurting a product by making it too confusing or difficult to use. In most new designs, a small learning curve is involved before it becomes more efficient than the older design. An upgraded version of a cell phone is a great example. When I got my phone, I spent a couple of weeks playing with every button and testing out what I needed and didn’t need. After about a month, I figured out exactly what I wanted to use and didn’t bother with what I didn’t need. However, there are times when an upgraded version of something actually becomes more difficult to use. Take Microsoft Office’s Word 2007. Drastic changes were made, and everything was grouped and categorized in different tabs. Instead becoming more efficient, Word 2007 had groupings that were so different from Word 2003 that many users, including myself, found it very difficult to find things that were simply laid out in older version.
Of products that are especially creative in terms of its designs, I think the iPhone wins in my book. As mentioned in class, the iPhone was created with the user in mind. There is only one button under the screen, and everything else is laid out on one big screen. It’s easy to read things off of, and it fits into your pocket or purse easily. The iPhone’s creation corresponded to the principles of Henry Dreyfuss, who incorporated the human aspect of design. He said that “if people are made safer, more comfortable, more eager to purchase, more efficient, or just happier, the designer has succeeded,” and Steve Jobs has definitely succeeded. When the iPhone first came out, I automatically turned against it. I thought the touch screen was a mistake because I assumed it would start having problems after several uses. I thought this only because I’ve had phones with touch screens in the past that eventually wore out and completely ruined the phone. I don’t own an iPhone today, but after actually using one and playing with it, I have been convinced that it’s not as horrible as I thought it once was.
Now that I know a little bit about the impact of design in the marketing world, I’m looking forward to learning more about the impact of customer insights and how it will affect the future someday.
Best,
CJL
