You know what’s been confusing me as of late?
Design is literally everywhere; you can’t escape it. It has the power to do incredible things, and make you feel a certain way, just from a quick glance at a few cleverly used words and pictures.
It connects you to communities and stops you from feeling alone. Design can completely change your lifestyle, convince you to try something new. It can take you back in time. It can be exciting, or fear inducing. It gives you eureka moments, or makes you question absolutely everything. It can inform you of atrocities occurring around the world, or simply persuade you to buy a product.
The impact of design on the world is endless.
So why is there so much design out there that simply does not care? It does a job, sure, and it may even look good, but over the last few years I’ve felt most of the design around me just seems to be missing something.
And I know what it is. It’s emotion.
So why is there so much design out there that simply does not care? It does a job, sure, and it may even look good, but over the last few years I’ve felt most of the design around me just seems to be missing something.
And I know what it is. It’s emotion.
This is not to say that the design world has forgotten about emotion, I find the best designers and the best companies know its importance and how to best utilise it. However this is a skill that many don’t seem to have grasped.
With the rise of social media and the shortening of attention, it feels like we’re increasingly being told to use cheap tricks, rather than learning about an audience’s needs, wants and desires.
A lot of design now reaches for the “Please don’t skip this ad” the “This product is cheaper than the other guys” or my least favourite: “Product A: It does X”… It’s far too literal.
With the rise of social media and the shortening of attention, it feels like we’re increasingly being told to use cheap tricks, rather than learning about an audience’s needs, wants and desires.
A lot of design now reaches for the “Please don’t skip this ad” the “This product is cheaper than the other guys” or my least favourite: “Product A: It does X”… It’s far too literal.
Success in the design world wasn’t built on literalism. It was built on emotion. It was built on learning every intricate detail about a person, seeing what makes them tick and connecting with them to make a long-lasting impact.
Design has and always will be about people. The general public, people who like to run, people who want to buy their dream house, people who miss the feeling of going on holiday. People are never alone in how they feel, and the best piece of advice I’ve been given is that design and advertising speak to one person, a thousand times over.
So why aren’t designers speaking to people with their work? We’re in a world where we’re proud to be human, perhaps more than ever before, so why does design feel so… Robotic? Algorithmic? We’re so focused on stats and analytics that we’ve forgotten the impact that design has on people.
Design is running the risk of becoming so ubiquitous, so interchangeable that at times you don’t even know who’s talking to you, it’s just all the same words in a different order.
I live for design that emphasis the importance of thinking differently. Design based on understanding that for brands to stand the test of time, they must stand out, do something differently, act a certain way, move talk and breathe differently. Brands need to have their own unique personality, unique voice and a unique way of looking, sounding and moving. They need to feel personable and relatable.
Creating harmony between emotion, purpose and function are paramount to the success of design, and to the success of those we work with. That, paired with remembering that we don’t design for other designers.
Sometimes I feel we see the flip side of emotionless design, electing for intellectual self-pleasure in order to feel as though we’re ‘above’ others. I find this uninspiring and unforgivable.
To me design should invite people in, elicit a feeling deep within and add to the culture of the world. Often, designers seem to forget that we create work for people to connect to, not for people to critique whilst sipping wine, discussing kerning and reciting Dieter Rams’ 10 principles of design.
Don’t get me wrong, these principles and skills are important for us to learn and discuss, along with many varying opinions on design and its true purpose. But that’s not what people care about.
We should learn from all the great designers that came before us, whether we personally agree with them or not. We should want to know the skills that they’ve put into practice, grid systems that have been perfected, the use of Gestalt theory or even the importance of white space in-between letters.
But we shouldn’t expect the general public to care about those things. They care about the bigger picture. How a piece of design makes them feel.
We should take inspiration from all disciplines of creativity and use these techniques to create a more well-rounded approach to design. Techniques that fit the situation of the client and the consumer.
Whether it’s Josef Müller-Brockmann’s use of grids, or Paula Scher’s expertise in expressive typography, it’s important for us to learn and create emotional connections between our work and the audience.
Design can have a great impact on the world, and a greater impact on the people within it. We should never forget that people, and the feelings they elicit are at the heart of everything we design. If we forget this, the world becomes a lot less interesting.
By the way, I’m Ya’Qub. A graphic designer who for the past five years has been working primarily in brand and campaign. I graduated from the University of Bolton in 2019 and have had an unwavering love for design for as long as I can remember.
The philosophy I’ve documented here is something I carry with me through every element of my design process, to ensure that I produce work at the highest level possible. I like to surround myself with, and learn from designers from all walks of life, so it’s important for me to attend events, read often, and work in environments that constantly expand my knowledge and skills.
To me, this philosophy is crucial for my work to make a greater impact on the world we share.