The UX Fallacy: The fallacy that everything needs to be usable to be valuable.

A few days ago, I read this tweet (and hundreds of LinkedIn posts) and found myself wondering about whether most designers understand the value of design. And as the old saying goes, "Design isn't the way something looks, it's the way it works." If by any chance, you understand this you'd know what's coming next.

For most designers, when something isn't working, it's tempting to jump into usability study or doing massive user testing to find out usability flaws. But sometimes, it's easy to forget that design isn't always about how usable it should be. It first needs to solve a problem, provide value. And before that, you need to understand the macro landscape.

Google's decision to redesign its iconic Suite logos was a conscious change. It wasn't by chance and certainly, it wasn't meant to lean towards usability. I'll sum up in 3 points why Google's Logo Redesign is all good:

Value ≠ UX, Value > UX

Okay, let's be honest - after Google redesigned their logos, who stopped using their service? Frankly, not me/anyone I know. In fact, people barely complained about it.

To achieve great design is as important first to understand the value of the product that it's intended to serve. Gmail still gives me timely email, Calendar still reminds me of the appointments I have, Drive still stores my files, and more.

The value of the product isn't the UI/UX, it's simply... the value it delivers. Google's product works for us and is far more superior to other alternatives. A redesign on the logo, frankly, won't kill.

Long term > Short term

By unifying the visual language across Google's suite of products, is important, especially with a company like Google, where services can easily be integrated into one. Google announced it will be integrated Gmail, Meets, Calendar and more together for competitive and strategic reasons.

I see this as a strategic opportunity for Google to break free from defining the structure and the role of their offerings; aligning everything. This can potentially help build stronger brand equity especially with strong products like Gmail, Drive, and Maps.

Which in the long term, having superior brand triumphs long term market. We see that clearly through Apple; the best in the world for branding IMO.

Context of design matters

To understand this picture is to understand the context of where Google is standing in our world. Are you ready? Let's talk numbers:

• Google, the most popular search engine controls 90% of the global search engine market. 
• According to Google statistics, Gmail has more than 1.5 Billion active users. 
• Google Maps is the leader in the navigation apps market. Considering that Google owns Waze (which has about 12% market share) it’s safe to say all others are fighting for the crumbs on the table.

With such superior market domination, Google is just taking advantage to level up its game by testing out new things. Whether we like it or not, they can and they will. As for consumers, the value remains the same everywhere - such minor redesign won't kill.

The key takeaway: It's not all design.

Start learning that the world of design, isn't just about design. It's not what schools or even some organizations teach. Many times, it gets more strategic than what it seems to be. There always is a chance that a redesign can change an entire outlook of a product (like Snap), but it requires being sharp, shrewd, and informed.

The message is clear: To bend reality, you’ve got to know reality.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think! ??