I love this quote by Steve Jobs.
What do you think? Is good design more than just looking pretty?
Join the discussion by leaving a comment.
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Patricia,
ReplyDeleteI agree Good design is also how it works and keeps on working. Apple products are a "magical" addition in our lives. I use them, create with them, and look forward to their innovation and user friendly technology...I like to say iApple!
Bette
If a space doesn't function well, you end up hating it regardless of how beautiful it is. It just isn't good design if it doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteThis is the pinnacle of my design philosophy as well. It's not just the looks, it has to function as well!
ReplyDeleteSmart guy! I am not surprised!
So true. I also like "style is a matter of taste, design is a matter of principle" author unknown
ReplyDeleteThat quote sounds like it could be the great Albert Hadley?
ReplyDeleteI do not think it should be an "either/ or" case, why not look good and work for the people who are using the space/product? As someone commented if it does not work you will learn to hate it regardless how beautiful it is. However, I believe the trick it to have both and to infuse a spirit in it all.
ReplyDeleteexactly!
ReplyDeletexxx
Totally agree! Pretty can wear off very quickly if it doesn't function.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a combination of both. It can't be only "looks" or only "works". :-)
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend, Patricia!
xo
Luciane at HomeBunch.com
PS: Come take a look at my "Cool or Fool Fridays: Would you live in a "Auto House"? :-)
Tareq
ReplyDeleteWell said. I love your point of view!
Looking good and working well with a wonderful spirit. Sounds like you – even though we have not met.
I am sure you are exactly like that.
Totally agree. Placement!
ReplyDeleteIf I go into a space where the furniture or wall art are not placed right it just irritates me to no end.
This is a good question, Patricia. By "work" I wonder if Steve means it has to function in a mechanical or electronic manner, such as a computer or the locks of a canal? or could he mean it is how it "works" by fitting in with its environmental context in a postmodern way? or both? Can it be good design if it doesn't "work"? Perhaps. I wouldn't rule out the possibility.
ReplyDeletefascinanting!
ReplyDeleteI love this Patricia!
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you for a great weekend!
xx
I think that statement applies to most types of design. What is design for actually, if not to inspire and create? But it has to go deeper than that for me. The more years I work and the more rooms I design, now more than ever I cherish the functionality and usefulness of the design as much, if not more, than its outward appeal. Perhaps Frank Lloyd Wright said it best "Form follows function - that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union."
ReplyDeletePatricia I agree with Tareq as well. Funcion and comfort, space and form can all meld in one project!
ReplyDeleteDo come and enter my Artful Offering!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
I believe pretty has it's place in design. I admit to liking pretty *insert smile here*. But like someone mentioned pretty fades if the room does not work. Balance and function need to go hand in hand and in the end it you don't like it visually then what's the point?
ReplyDeleteDear Patricia, my sentiments exactly. I completely agree with your thought. I completely restore each and every antique in my collection to where it becomes a functional and practical piece not just one to be admired from afar.
ReplyDeleteKarina Gentinetta
www.disegnokarinagentinetta.1stdibs.com
Great quote! How about "function-able beauty"? As I grow, I prefer simple, but harmonious and beautiful...
ReplyDeleteAgree!
ReplyDeletePeople nowadays seem to confuse design with decoration/embellishment.
Even just looking the word up in the dictionary, design is defined as a plan, purpose or intention.
This is the first thing i learned in design school - design must first be a solution to a problem, then how it looks comes later. Making things look pretty is the easy part and I always believe that a decorator is not a designer.
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent quote. It is so true. You can have the most extravagant design but if it is not functionally or doesn't create the desired feel it is worthless.
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent quote. It is so true. You can have the most extravagant design but if it is not functionally or doesn't create the desired feel it is worthless.
ReplyDeleteDesign without function is art. Function with out design is craft.
ReplyDeleteDesign/architecture falls between the two. Artist+craftsman.
Love this saying.
I also like the triangle with cost, quality, and time at the three vertexes showing can't lean toward one without affecting the other two, it all balances.
100% True. Mike Ewell, a judge for the Chicago Housewares Show Student Design competition, said this when he announced the winners yesterday. Design is about helping people, otherwise its just styling.
ReplyDeleteI bow down to Mr. Jobs. He has certainly improved the quality of my life on a minute by minute basis.
ReplyDeletei love this! absolutely! functional, beautiful design = happiness
ReplyDeletethe "works "word involve so many aspects ! culture, knowledge , background , and so on . where is the limit of "it works" ? as a French designer working in the middle East since 15 years , I learned to trim down my references and tuned with the local needs and back ground . . . where the love for French design come from ? … found out : " Egyptian movie from the 50 th , that's reshaped the all picture ...
ReplyDeletecompletely true!!! The big Steve!!
ReplyDeletetry www.designgallerist.com
Fully agree - actually, it works is even more important than how it looks, as it decides how satisfied you'll be with any product over time. Is it too bad that looks, on the other hand sells it?
ReplyDeleteDesign (in a layperson's opinion) is not only how something looks and functions, it's also how it makes you feel.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog...Glad I've found it...Looking forward to plunging into the "back issues"...
ReplyDeleteYes! Spaces, products and websites should all focus on the end user and how he/she will use it. Pretty things may make us happy, but things that don't work make us crazy!
ReplyDeleteFunction-Function-Function...the design mantra of our age...While function in mechanical devices is uber important...I vote "beautiful" first...
ReplyDeleteLooks are the additional bonus to a practical and functional design. So thats true.
ReplyDeleteThe site is really fascinating, keep writing amazing content.
ReplyDeleteDesign is (or produces) art that functions. Business is business, art is art. Design is a marriage of the two. As such, one can expect a certain complexity, lots of opinions about what is good and bad, workable and not...great design is informed by everything that informs a great life: philosophy, compassion, exquisite taste, humor, discipline, intellectual rigor, exuberance, self-examination...I'm sure I've missed a boatload of qualities but who's counting?
ReplyDeleteHey, nice blog, I love making design too. But, I get plenty of creative ideas near the deadline date! How panic I am! Hahahahaha
ReplyDeleteWhen my mama was decorating there was a room in the house that only got used on special occasions. Chairs weren't comfortable and fabrics not compatible with dogs and children. We've come a long way here in my neck of the woods and we have no problem with a marriage of comfort and beauty. It's a good thing. So is the motto!!
ReplyDeleteDesign is definitely about looking good - but, functionality, practical application, being mechanical sound and longevity should be considered with parity to being the best looker!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great quote, couldn't be truer.
ReplyDeleteanything other, and any manufacturer of any product will not be in business for long.
ReplyDeleteafter several years of using an android...i have my first iphone. (i have to admit..i wondered how possibly could it be different..the devices did basically the same things...)
ReplyDeleteall i can say is...
WOW!!! the elegance of use is inspiring...
form follows function.
ReplyDelete