Fashion Gallery [06]

Hello everyone,

Recently I had read an article (don't mind the title, it is misleading) about why designers should not be put in charge of company projects, rather, to supplement developers and product managers. This unsettled me, and I have been thinking about the article for several days. Today I find myself somewhat agreeing with Maeda.

Maeda mentions a, "'microworld of aesthetic high-fives': in which designers have an invisible language about what good design looks like." It often feels like I am selling my products to two audiences: the client, and the designer community. Naturally the client and I both want something 'new', but I find myself implementing mathematical techniques or design theories that are not acknowledged by the client, nor the primary target audience, nor the secondary, nor the tertiary, and so forth.

However, I feel this is more relevant to visual designers than UX designers. With UX becoming more popularized, it seems like the goal of design is almost 100% user-oriented. The design principles are to influence users to make decisions, and in that sense, I do feel that UX design may be the most valuable aspect of a project. In many regards, it is creative marketing. To me at least, my development skills are actually meant to supplement my designs. This was sort of a 'wake up call' for me, as the more I look at the designers that influence me the most, the more I see that they are designer-oriented. My goal for the following year is to truly find a median between function and design.

Let me know what you think of this article, as it is very controversial to me.