Good design is everywhere
How a recent trip to the airport turned into a masterclass in product design.
Everything that you see around you has been designed, and built by someone else. Every single piece of furniture, clothing, software, infrastructure (buildings, streets, vehicles) - everything is someone else’s creation. It first existed in the cavities of their mind, a complete figment of their imagination. And after months and years of labor, hard work, and angst - also known as the creative process - it made its way into the real world.
Unfortunately though, not everything around you has been designed well.
What does that mean? Well people have different views on what makes certain designs better than others, but universally loved products or “things” have something in common - incredible attention to detail. Every interaction, every experience with the product feels intentional. Like the maker had thought of you specifically before they built it. Great design is also:
- Effortless: It’s immediately clear how to use, navigate, and benefit from the product
- Opinionated: It almost has a “voice” of its own. A well designed product or “thing” is the physical manifestation of an opinion on how something should work
- Beautiful: Beauty goes beyond colours, fonts, spacing, light and dark schemes, etc. Good products have a sense of cohesion and “togetherness” (like everything “just works”) that makes them beautiful.
Since badly designed products are everywhere, our brains have become numb to them. We’ve accepted the status quo. Missing road markers, loud airports, long wait times, loading spinners, slow apps, cheap fabric. We come across these things so often, that it just feels “normal”.
Luckily, because good design is so rare it also makes it easy to spot - if you’re paying attention. And spotting good design is the first step in creating well designed products.
A recent example from my life - a casual domestic flight from SFO’s Terminal 1 became an eye-opening experience. Here are some reasons why:
- Audio: Crystal clear audio of overhead announcements, it’s not muffled. The airport in general isn’t buzzing with announcements, even though I was sitting between 5 different gates. It sounded like I could actually focus on the one thing I’m supposed to hear. There’s no “airport wide” announcements.
- Displays & Signage: High contrast (black background, white text), large high signs for gate numbers. There were TVs near the gate number that face walking traffic directly showing what flight is going from there and times
- Seating & Setup: Plenty of seating in front of the washroom because they know people wait for family or friends to use the bathroom. Different kinds of seats in waiting areas, including long tables, groups of 4 turned inwards towards a table, regular seating. Everything has an outlet.
- Aesthetics: Bathroom entrance had an aesthetically pleasing entrance, but one that blocked the sight inwards so you can’t see in. Like a concealing door, but it wasn’t a door. Aesthetically, every piece of furniture looked great.
The terminal is a breath of fresh air amongst the hundreds of other cookie-cutter airports around the world. It’s a perfect example of good design.
So look up and pay attention. There’s beauty in everything.