Designer’s Paradox and the Value of Review
In most cases, the vast majority of web design is hidden away beneath shiny user interfaces that consist of text, images and links. Our job as the designer is to create an abstraction, just like driving a car can be achieved relatively easily without understanding the internal combustion engine, gearing mechanisms or the way a clutch plate works. The better we get at abstracting the complexity away through good design, the less our design is noticed. Its a designer’s paradox.
If we create something that looks awesome and beautiful in the eyes of our peers then we run the risk of creating barriers for the user experience. Similarly, in some instances, if we design and create a simple experience for our users then it can be severely undervalued by our peers (and in our portfolio). Because good design is not about looking pretty, or at least not fundamentally about that objective. Good web design, like any design process, should be about effectively balancing and negotiating the various trade-offs so the outcomes achieve the best overall user experience (given the available tools and constraints of the project).
In other words, when you look back at your work it should probably not be judged solely on the graphic design of the interfaces. Dig beneath the abstraction and look at the whole design of the product. It is possible that you have aesthetically beautiful work but it is obviously crap design. A visually spectacular shopping cart that has a fundamental process flaw, or a programming memory leak, or even an accessibility issue, is not a good design. Because good design, first and foremost, should work more effectively than the bad design.
Which brings us to the point, if not as briefly as I intended – customer review is worth a hundred times more than peer review. No, change that to a million times!
While peer review is an essential component it’s not the main objective. When we get more interested in our portfolios than the real objective of creating seamless applications then we’re into dangerous waters. Because who decides whether or not your new application is crap – yes, you got it… customers decide. Users decide. And, truely understanding the designer’s paradox can take your work to the next level.
Finally, what would you consider to be customer review? Do you ask them? You could do that, but I’m not entirely sold on the value of that methodology. My perception is that customers review your product every day by coming back or staying away, through the bottom line of profit and loss. Bums on seats. What is your conversion rate? If you really want to know how your design is working I’d suggest you run to your website stats and look for trends.
