Design, Decision, and Aesthetics: A Brief Note

Design. Most people are terrible. Some people are passable. Few are exceptional.

Fortunately, like most things, design is a skill. If you find yourself on the low end of the spectrum, you can work hard and find yourself on the high end.

But in order to succeed, you need to understand the elements of experience.

You need to understand your target customer’s view of the world.

Let’s begin.

Your experiences with a thing can be defined by your interpretation of its aesthetic properties. An abstract opening line, but stick with me.  

“Uhhh, what exactly are aesthetic properties and why should I care?”

An excellent question.

Aesthetic properties are the perceivable and affectively engaging characteristics of a thing; they make people feel something upon exposure.

These properties, when combined, become the defining elements of an experience.

“Neat, I guess, but why does this matter for product design?"

Another excellent question.

When designing a product, you need to understand the aesthetic values of your target demographic.

What goals are they trying to accomplish? What cultural values structure their world? What do they expect from your product and how precisely can you deliver on those expectations?

The answers to these questions will help you design products that provide the customer with what they want, in a way that speaks to them personally.

This is important for two reasons:

1.       Providing value. Putting a sheep in wolf’s clothing won’t fool the howling packs of today’s consumers. If you want to sell anything, you have to provide products of legitimate value, built with intent.

2.       The human ego. Stuntin’-stuntin’ is a habit, and the ego is one of the best performing assets of all time. People’s vanity knows no bounds. Sometimes it just be like that. Designing products that appeal to people’s ego and sense of identity will help establish the foundation for a strong community.

Designing a product, using the pillars of your target demographic’s aesthetic values as the base-inspiration, will guide you smoothly past the all-important first impression experience.

“Ok, but opinions are like fancy cheese drawers in your fridge– everyone has one (if you don’t, you should; start with a nice manchego). Why should I care about people’s judgements?”

Generally, yes. Judgements are trivial when it comes to someone’s favorite movie, or their sports affiliation, or their Saturday night outfit. But ultimately, judgement is the ethos, the fundamental substance, of decision making.

Judgement is how people navigate their world. In today’s world drowning in content, you have, oh, I don’t know, maybe three seconds to capture someone’s attention before they pass judgement.

Understanding what people will be looking for, and using that information to design products with intent, will help you capture more of that attention and pass the smiteful force of consumer judgement.

 more attention = more potential = more money

Simple as.