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Design. It surrounds the human race. It is the silent, ever present aspect that can make or break a company, and has the power to either disgust or intrigue the beholder. Design has largely been overlooked in the business world: cast aside as a trait that should be reserved for the "artistic" jobs; however, this way of thinking is beginning to change. [|Daniel Pink] discusses this shift in the "Design" chapter of his bestseller [|A Whole New Mind.] He brings to light the idea that design affects customers' feelings. The design of a product can effect the consumer's choice of product and chance of purchasing it. It is also said that different designs that it can help raise moral and even speed up the recovery of a sick patient in a hospital. Design is beginning to be recognized as the powerful visual tool that it is in all fields of work. The immense ways in which it affects the human senses and brain is also being unveiled. Although people respond to and perceive design aspects differently, research shows that many core components are needed for a "good" design and that many lessons can be gleaned from the findings in research.

This essential concept of good design can be interpreted in many different ways such as those pertaining to looks, functionality, and usefulness. These factors create the basis of the many opinions of what make it good and bad. [|Paola Antonelli], an architectural designer, acknowledged that, “ …the moment an object seems necessary, then you can move on to judge if it’s beautiful, if it works well, if it wastes energy. Those are all considerations. But the idea of necessity or good addition to the world really usually works.” Similar to the message that Daniel Pink tries to convey throughout his whole book, __[|A Whole New Mind]__, good design can reflect both left and right directed thinking. This relates back to those key factors of good design. The functionality piece can be left-directed and the appearance can be right-directed. In a left-related sense, one could ask, “ Organized your pencils and pens lately? Sorted your clothes into a logical system in your drawers? Then you already understand the basic elements of good design: it's practical, it's systematic, and it makes life easier.” ([|Maynard]) These all help to tie into functionality. When judging whether a design is good or bad, most people combine the two and add their opinion. In order to research of peoples’ design style, interviewers asked different people questions comparing two different objects and their designs. Many of the responses were about the color and looks. The initial reactions of most people when asked, “What is good design?” concerned the appearance of their object. . Once probed further, the people who were interviewed talked more about the functionality. For example, Matt F, one of the people interviewed, said that he really liked the iPod compared to the mp3 player because of the sleek, shiny, and brightly colored qualities. Then he went on to say that he liked how it was user friendly and easier to use than mp3 player. Sarah D, when asked about whether she liked tennis shoes or heels better, she replied “Heels, because they are sparkly and my favorite colors.” Julia M said that she would rather play on the computer and with a stuffed animal, the functionality of a webkinz compared to that of a regular stuffed animal. Design can impact a person’s decisions. Every day, people choose a good design or a bad design, and that choice can make all the difference.

Design can go both directions. Humans strive to make the design desirable; however, there are some instances in which the design is simply awful. Once a year, design critics gather examples of these “design goof-ups” and award nine designers with the “Ugliest Product Design Award, Silliest Product Design, and Most Useless Product Design Concept.” What started as a small idea, turned into what is now known as [|The Oops Award] (About Award). This less than prestigious prize is the only contest of its nature, the reason being that ugly design is not something that customers want, so companies spend time creating designs that will sell. Bad design is looked down upon in the age where quality is a given and consumers look for the product that is the most appealing, functional and easy to use. The people who were interviewed all had similar responses to the objects shown to them, despite their differences in brain orientation, age and occupation. Interviewees, Matt F, who is 18 years old and an avid student, and Ms. Anne, who is 83 and a missionary in Kenya, were both shown an [|iPod] and an [|mp3 player] in their interviews. Both subjects chose the iPod as​ the object with better design and said that the mp3 player looked “second rate, clumsy looking and not as user friendly” compared to the iPod. Mrs. Hawthorne, an art teacher, and Mr. Booth, a principal, were shown a Vincent Van Gogh [|painting] and a [|hippo doodle]. Both reacted more favorably to the Van Gogh painting saying that the hippo doodle “did not have any detail or any obvious skill or thought process behind it.” Amy W, who is 6, and Sarah D, who is 12, looked at a pair of [|Jimmy Choo] heels and [|tennis shoes]. The girls both decided that they liked the heel better because the tennis shoes weren’t “sparkly and just plain ugly.” The results revealed that bad design has several universal qualities such as that of the lack of detail, lack of a though process, lack of functionality, and in the case of young girls, a lack of sparkles. The key word here is “lack.” Each object that failed to make the cut in the eyes of those interviewed were missing a quality that the other object possessed. The failing object had the potential to “win,” but because the designers didn’t pay as much attention to detail, streamlined appearance, and user-friendliness, their object did not pass the test of the average customer.

Now the thinking begins. All must contemplate the question: What can be learned from the comparison of good and bad design? This basic inquiry subsequently leads to the unique viewpoint of great designers all over the globe. Design has a place in the corporate world where it's job is to impress and convince customers to choose a certain product. Design also has a niche in it's traditional place as a part of the artistic world. It is necessary to put in detail and value into a work of art, or people won't be amazed. If one sees an artwork or design that is incomplete, then that can be used as a starting point. Building on that "beginning object" can result in an example of truly appealing design. It can be compared to mistakes, and lessons can be learned from them. As mentioned earlier, design is absolutely everywhere and in every single object. Therefore, people must learn to use design to their advantage, and that is how people will begin to flourish in this world.People must incorperate design into their lives to add enthusiasm, passion, purpose, and meaning. An example would be that if Sarah and Amy got the chance to wear Jimmy Choo Heels, it would bring them happiness and possibly more confidence. The Van Gogh painting brough both Mr. Booth and Mrs. Hawthorne feelings of admiration while looking at the mysterious yet beautiful piece of artwork. If Julia M got a Webkinz stuffed animal, it would bring her joy having a good time with the stuffedt animal and the computer games as well. These emotional reactions are important to people and add meaning to their lives. As Paolla Antonelli states when asked about good design, "Sometimes objects just deliver emotions or are just part of your life. That's also enough. You know the moment an object seems necessary. . ."

Without design, the human race would exist in a dreary, functionless world with a major decline of pleasure and contentment. After discussing the examples of good and bad design, it can be concluded that people need good designs. Good design exists with functionality and eye appeal. It can also be drawn from this that people also need bad design. Without it, people can never learn from mistakes. Unappealing design is inevitable: humans cannot create any object perfectly the first time, but if designers pay attention to their mistakes, they may be able to limit the number of design fumbles. People must allow design into their lives for without it, life would not be complete. Design cannot be overlooked. It is an essential part of life that affects each person in a different and intimate way. It's power is just being discovered, and if used for good, can change the world in a profound way.

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