Simplicity, empathy and longevity are some of the basic keys to proper design.
Whether you’re designing a product, a logo, a website, or even an entire highway system, simplicity means ease of use and navigation, legibility and quicker access to information. Simplicity doesn’t mean generic or lifeless. Simplicity is the breakdown and disregard of excess. Finding and exposing the core, and designing that core.
Empathy means knowing your product, knowing your consumer and knowing the experience you’re trying to provide. Empathy is feeling the pain points of your competition and providing the alternative. Empathy gives us access ramps in lobbies, the grip divots of our steering wheels, and can even determine the color of a logo.
Longevity means getting it right the first time. Redesigning, rebranding and rebuilding is merely the process of trying to fix the mistakes made in the past. Whether due to technological growth or lack of funding or “we just got it wrong,” starting over is the result of improper design. Longevity means the design worked in the past, effectively works now and will work long into the future. Designing with foresight.
Everything from the coffee mugs we sip to the cityscapes we see out our windows can and should be designed with these three basic elements in mind. Proper design starts and ends with simplicity, empathy and longevity.