Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
[of my work] has damaged my artistic thinking. There's a foundational difference between
an artist and a designer, but the more challenges an artist has, the more creative you have
to be to come up with a solution that goes beyond the baseline. This is when we create de-
light for the user.” Mohr attaches a great deal of importance to this delight, and he's right to
do so. This unquantifiable quality is where a user's experience best reflects the designer's
unique vision.
Creativity is the ability to see connections and relationships where others may not. As
a product designer, you bring an artist's sensibility to commercial tasks. Your job is to har-
ness your creative thoughts to solve problems. Your goal is to maximize a product's aes-
thetic attractions and its functionality, while giving users easy ways to exploit those fea-
tures. These concerns should apply not only to the look and feel of a product, but also to
how it will work. The designer must reach an understanding of how and why consumers
will decide to buy this thing.
Many people have the misconception that design deals with the aesthetic surface de-
tails, and that design decisions apply only to a product's looks. Design is far more than the
size and color of buttons or the placement of a handle or screen. Design defines the user's
experience with a product. It involves decisions about everything from outer appearance to
power sources. When designers ignore their users, they are turning their backs on a primary
component in the life of their product. Without the consumer, the product is nothing more
than unrealized potential. It might catch the eye, or appeal to our other senses, but what
good is a beautiful product that never leaves the shelf? The designer's personal vision be-
comes a moot point if no one wants the creation.
For artists in almost every field, the most frightening aspect of artistic identity is the
mystery of source. Few—if any—of us have any notion of where our ideas come from. Not
knowing the source, we can only hope our ideas will keep coming. The fear of running dry
tomorrow is common to all creative occupations. A composer experiences it when he no
longer hears new melodies in her head. An author wakes up with writer's block. An actor's
confidence suddenly gives way to crippling stage fright.
Some of this is inevitable, but creativity can often be harnessed and steered if we ap-
proach it as a problem-solving process. If we have a process, we can use the same scientific
method found in the laboratory, employing questions and behaviors designed to elicit in-
novative solutions.
The scientist starts with a prime objective, often in the form of a research question. The
question addresses a problem or subject. To answer it, the scientist gathers all pertinent
empirical data. He or she looks at this data and whatever previous interpretations others
