10 October 2022
First function
then beauty
then character.
First you make it work
then you make it attractive
then you make it unique.
Make it work
Nobody has figured out doors.
Doors present usability problems that are still unsolved.
Making something work is hard.
Your starting point is writing down outcomes | key results |
requirements | user stories | tests | whatever.
The point is writing them down.
The more specific, the better.
The more inspiring, the better.
Specific and inspiring conspire against each other.
But don’t dream,
specifying an outcome is the most difficult thing.
Specifying an outcome is actually impossible.
Just do your best and iterate frequently.
Make it beautiful
Beauty is NOT on the inside.
Beauty is NOT subjective.
All disciplines have well defined rules of beauty.
If you are designing, just make it teal and orange.
If you are writing, just
“Never use the passive voice.”
If you are photographing, just use the Rule of Thirds.
If you are composing music, just use the I V vi IV chord progression.
You can trust these rules as you can trust gravity.
Learn and apply the rules until they are second nature.
If you are short on time, follow Andy Warhol's specific and inspiring advice:
“Well-groomed people are the real beauties.”
Just be clean.
Make it singular
Beauty alone will not make you tick.
Beauty alone will leave you comfortably indifferent.
Character is what triggers you.
Character stands out.
Character cannot be specified.
You know it when you see it.
Then it becomes a signature.
Ironically, the best way to bring your character to your work is to
steal from others.
Be attentive to what resonates with you.
Capture it. Analyze it.
Then steal it.
The end result will be distinctively yours.
As you move from function to beauty to character,
you lose target market
and win back your soul.
As it should be.
Please don’t maximize target market.
Please don’t maximize Profit After Tax.
Those days are over now.
The internet killed them years ago.
You might have not received the memo.
