Part 1: Foundations of Good Design

Good Design is Like a Bento Box: Thoughtful, Balanced, and User-Centric.

Imagine you’re about to enjoy a meal. You open a neatly packed lunchbox. Inside, you find various sections containing different types of food. The rice is perfectly shaped, and the vegetables are vibrant. The proteins are thoughtfully arranged, with fish and chicken, depending on your preference. It’s just the way you like it. The dessert and the greens are separated, balancing a perfect meal. Everything is segregated into compartments, which keeps the flavors distinct and the presentation appealing. This isn’t just a meal; it’s an experience that delights the senses and satisfies your hunger efficiently. It keeps you healthy by providing a nutrition-rich diet.

What you’re looking at is a bento box, a traditional Japanese lunchbox. The bento box is a perfect example of a good design rooted in understanding user needs. It’s not just about the visual appeal; it’s about meeting needs effectively. The compartments keep foods separate, preserving flavors and textures. There is no unpleasant mix of flavors and gravy, even if the box is moving during travel. The portions are balanced, promoting a healthy diet and satisfying hunger and nutritional needs. The compact design makes it easy to carry, fitting perfectly into a busy lifestyle. This thoughtful arrangement is rooted in understanding user needs—the cornerstone of successful design.

Good design is much more than aesthetics. It’s about balancing what is needed, much like a balanced diet. This balance is different for each individual. Some may be allergic to fish or nuts, while others may prefer a vegetarian or pescatarian diet. Designing a meal according to your needs is no different than designing a product that could be used by thousands and impact millions.

Good design, whether in a bento box, a smartphone app, or a public space, is always about solving real problems. It fulfills the needs of the user and enhances the overall experience. This principle drives successful designers and is the cornerstone of what you will learn. A need, a problem, or an opportunity to design is the first ingredient for creating great design. This need could be real or superficial, such as the desirability of a status symbol achieved through the product’s use.

The Fuel of Design: Need and Desirability

In the late 1950s, the Ford Motor Company invested heavily in developing and launching a new car model called the Edsel. Ford invested over $250 million (equivalent to about $2.3 billion today). They believed the Edsel would revolutionize the automobile market. However, despite the resources and effort, the Edsel was a commercial failure. But how? How can a car, backed by billions in funding and the expertise of top engineers, fail to satisfy consumers? It turns out consumers found it overpriced, over-engineered, and stylistically unappealing. It became a case study of how even a well-funded, extensively researched product can fail if it does not address a genuine need or resonate with users. If your target audience doesn’t want your product, they won’t feel the need for it. No matter how many millions or billions you invest, your design won’t be satisfactory, even if it’s a masterpiece of engineering and manufacturing.

In contrast, consider the Volkswagen Beetle, designed by Ferdinand Porsche and launched in the 1930s. The Beetle was developed with a clear understanding of average drivers’ needs. It was affordable, reliable, and economical to run. During and after World War II, the Beetle gained immense popularity for its simplicity, durability, and practicality. Volkswagen did not need to invest a fortune to ensure the Beetle’s success. The Beetle’s design was based on addressing real needs, making it one of the best-selling cars of all time. It remained in production for decades, symbolizing how meeting genuine user needs with straightforward design can lead to lasting success. These historical examples highlight a fundamental truth: good design is rooted in genuine needs. Even with millions invested in a design, if it lacks a solid need as its foundation, it will likely fail. Conversely, even a modest investment in a design that addresses a genuine need can result in huge success.

A good need is like good fuel. Without it, no matter how great your design engine is, it won’t take you far on a satisfactory user experience journey. Without this essential component, even the most innovative and visually appealing designs will fall short of delivering the desired impact and user satisfaction.

Besides the need, the desirability of the car is also quite important. While Ford focused on producing affordable, reliable cars like the Model T, initially offered only in black, General Motors (GM) under Alfred P. Sloan popularized annual model updates. These updates featured different colors and design tweaks. This approach transformed cars from functional items into desirable, status-oriented products, enticing consumers to trade in for the latest model each year.

From a UX and desirability perspective, GM’s strategy of annual model updates with new colors and designs transformed car buying. It created a sense of novelty and personal connection, which is essential to user experience. These updates made cars more than functional items; they became symbols of status and individuality, similar to how personalization in UX enhances user engagement. Just as a high-performance car requires quality fuel to run efficiently, a well-designed product or service must address genuine user needs to provide a fulfilling and seamless experience.

The Designer’s Reality Check: What Aspiring Designers Should Know

After countless phone calls and conversations with aspiring designers, educators, and industry professionals, I've noticed a common thread: a deep desire for comprehensive guidance on navigating the world of design education. Many aspiring designers harbor misconceptions about what design truly entails. Some believe that design is primarily about aesthetics, thinking they need to be proficient in art and sketching. Others view design strictly through the lens of technical manufacturing aspects. Still, some see design as a social tool, believing they can create solutions that uplift society and bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.

The reality is that design encompasses all these elements. However, students whose hearts are in the right place often feel disheartened when confronted with the complexities of the design world. They must come to terms with the fact that design is a blend of skills and perspectives. Here’s a reality check for aspiring designers:

1. Sketching Skills Matter, but Not as Much as You Think: The countless hours spent honing your sketching abilities will only be crucial during the ideation phase of design—unless you’re an illustrator or graphic designer. In many cases, average sketching skills are sufficient. Even in graphic design or illustration, sketching is just one aspect of your work.
2. Understanding Users is Essential: While manufacturing and materials are important in product design, grasping qualitative data, emotions, and user needs through interviews and surveys is equally vital. You can’t create a design that is easy to manufacture and affordable if it doesn’t meet the users' needs. Engineering skills alone are insufficient if they don’t address real problems.
3. Empathy Needs Action: Simply understanding and empathizing with users isn’t enough to make you a good designer. Design is not solely about social justice; it requires technical expertise to effectively solve problems. Numerous well-intentioned designs—like those for clean energy or water systems—have failed due to a lack of consideration for implementation costs and practicalities. Passion without action, prototyping, modeling, and rigorous testing will not yield successful designs. Remember, actions speak louder than words in design, a field that heavily relies on experience and skills rather than mere theoretical knowledge.

To illustrate these points, consider the example of bento box meals as a metaphor for good design. If you focus solely on aesthetics, you might create a meal that looks great and tastes amazing but is unhealthy. Conversely, emphasizing only technical aspects could lead to a meal that is nutritious yet tasteless and visually unappealing. Designing to address social issues without understanding the underlying technicalities is like preparing a meal that tastes good but contains the wrong ingredients for a specific dietary requirement.

I recognize the confusion among aspiring designers. There is a plethora of doubts and insufficient guidance regarding design in our culture. This ignorance often stems from two factors: either people are unaware of design's existence or they mistakenly believe they already understand it. Unfortunately, design often falls into the latter category. Many people think design is merely about aesthetics or technical manufacturing jargon, overlooking its deeper and more impactful nature.

This message is not meant to discourage anyone but to provide perspective. Good design considers a multitude of factors and does not rely solely on one skill set. It should uplift various disciplines and perspectives. Many students doubt their suitability for design because they feel they lack certain skills. They may also feel overwhelmed by the vast amount of information available and struggle to find reliable, comprehensive resources.