Purposeful Design - A Jargonless Approach

I believed design is making things that are beautiful. Nothing more, nothing less.

Big brands, like Apple, Nike, Google and so on, had a cool design in whatever they did: their logo, their apps, their websites and just everything they launched. So did every other awesome brand on this planet. They all looked great, different, interesting to feel/use and made me want to buy from the brand more than their competitors. So I thought Cool Design = Customer Interest = Good brand. So did all of the people I created “logos” for.

But there was always a problem when I created “Cool Designs”. Almost all of the clients that I had, had a different idea of what was “Cool” and the projects went on a infinite feedback loop. Nothing seemed to satisfy the client’s hunger for newer cooler designs that had to be “Perfect” for their brand and build customer interest almost immediately.

I was trying to perfect my process and I tried to create exactly what clients wanted. My very first creative questionnaire had questions like “What colors do you want in the design?” and even “What fonts do you want?” But the infinite feedback loop never ended. Giving the driving wheel to the client clearly did not help.

I could sense there was something wrong with what I did. First I blamed it on the clients and then on myself that I did not have the skill.

Design is NOT Art

I had a hard time understanding why design isn’t art. I couldn’t figure what designers that I looked up to meant when they are “problem solvers” while all I saw was pretty designs put up on their behance and portfolio websites. I did not know that I was just seeing the tip of the iceberg and that it skewed my vision about design.

I really started understanding the difference when I started reading books about design, engaging with the community on social media and started learning from big names like Mike Janda, Chris Do and more. Soon, it became clear that the blame of infinite feebacks had to be taken by my understanding of design and the wrong design process that I had in place.

It is easy to confuse design with art. Good art and good design both look beautiful, interesting and attractive. Both are experimental in nature. Both have the tendency to persuade people. Persuading people is what both the artist and your client wants. But because of the intention and thought process behind the persuasion, they are different.

Art is expressive. It stands out. Art is open to interpretation. Art wants the user to be a part of the conclusion about what it stands for. The same piece of art could mean different things to different people. Art is spontaneous. Art doesn’t try to answer any specific question. In fact, art creates more questions than answers. Art is for conscious listeners, thinkers and viewers.

But ‘Design’ is different. It is almost the opposite.

Design is problem solving. Good design is transparent. Design is the process of creating something that is least open to interpretation. Design doesn’t want to induce 100 different thoughts in 100 different people. Instead it tries to induce the same feeling in 100 different viewers. Design is strategic. Design is for the unconscious.

Going forward, I’ll try to explain the mindset that I am trying to perfect and how you can try to apply it to anything you want to design.

The First Call

For me, first call from clients asking me to do some creative is always hard. Because usually, they call me up, tell me what they want in a hasty five minute call and from there on, I am on my own.

Each project felt like I was blindfolded and left in an island all by myself. I had to improve the island, make it look pretty and make it best suit the needs of the client. All blindfolded. The client came by the island every few days and I had to show the progress. Most of the time, the progress I made isn’t what they wanted it to look like, because obviously I am blindfolded, so I have to start all over again. If I were lucky, client will approve and I’d get out of the island. Sometimes, payment seemed only like an optional bonus for making it out of the island.

This had to change.

Change Your Mindset

It changed when I started doing things as suggested by the mentors I was learning from. The change helped me remove the blindfold, and even better: made the client stay with me and guide me through the process of making the island suit them better. The change was this:

Asking the right questions

At first, it made no sense since I thought I was asking the best question I could: “What do you want?”

Imagine going to a doctor. What happens? You go to the doctor and he/she diagnoses your disease by asking questions and running tests. Then the doctor finds out the right medicine to prescribe to help you get well. Does the doctor ever ask “What do you want?” Wouldn’t it be ridiculous if you stormed right into the doctor’s office and told him/her which medicine you would ‘want’ to cure your ailment? Or wouldn’t it be equally ridiculous if doctor ran no tests, asked no questions and was ready with a prescription even before you stepped into his/her office?

A doctor doesn’t prescribe what the patient likes. A doctor prescribes what the patient needs after carefully listening to them and taking the right tests. The patient could sometimes be right about what they wanted to cure the disease. But most often than not, they are wrong. You are the doctor. The client is the patient. The disease you are trying to cure is the problem the client has with their business.

Think like a doctor.

Doctors do not know everything about the human body. Every human body has a different normal. What is normal blood pressure for someone could be high blood pressure for another. Could be low for yet another. But doctors handle this problem by asking the right questions for that specific person and arrive at an answer for that person and that person only.

So is the solution to your client. Specific and tailor made.

The Right Questions

The best way to start designing literally anything is by starting with the right set of questions.

If you define the problem correctly, you almost have the solution.
- Steve Jobs

Some of the questions are universal, some of the questions will be related to whatever you are designing. The latter is formed by digging deeper into the problem by making a question out of the answer statement until we are left with the true pain point that caused the problem. From there, we build back what we need to do. The former is explained below.

Here are some of the universal questions that I am training myself to ask. Funnily, it is formed with just the basic question words we learnt in kindergarten. Dig deep into each question and you’ll find five gems that will help you throughout the project.

• What are you approaching me for? What can I do for you?
  Helps you find out if you can do what client is looking for.
• What problem are you trying to solve with it? Why do you need to solve it?
  Helps you understand the client problem. Dig deeper right here and you’ll find the true pain point and it’s cause.
• How did you arrive at this as the solution to your problem?
  Helps to understand the thought process of client and relate to their reasoning of how they are going to solve the problem with what you are going to provide. They could be right or they could be wrong. If they are right, great! If they are wrong, explain how they could be wrong and provide your view on the right thing to do, even if it means the project will be dropped (Trust me, you won’t regret it) Seek more information if they still think they are right. Our final goal is to help the client, not compete and see who’s ego is unbreakable.
• How do you define the success for this project?
  You can find out if what the client is asking for is possible to acheive with your tools, your capabilities and your time. Most importantly, you can figure out whether if whatever you are going to do can actually lead to the client’s defined success.
• Who are you solving this problem for? What is their motivation to buy from you?
  Helps to find out the client’s customers and their tendencies. Dig deeper here and you’ll be able find facts to make the design help the client be better in front of their customers and not just create something the client likes personally. If what we are going to do will reach the right audience the client intends to speak to in the right way, then we’re on the path to improve client’s business.

Asking these questions before starting any design will help you define the problem correctly before starting out. These are the basic questions that should guide whatever design you are trying to create for client. Do not be afraid to ask more if needed. Designers aren’t magicians so your client will understand your natural need to ask more questions if they want the best working design.

Your goal is to solve the problem you found by designing within the constraints set by this very questionnaire. If you think you can, take up the project. This makes sure it is no longer lost-blindfolded-in-an-island story, since you now have clarity. It is okay to say no if it seems like it is going to become the lost-blindfolded-in-an-island story.

If you ever find yourself derailed and don’t understand why you are doing what you are doing, go back to these questions and their answers. This will help you and the client be on track to create the best.

Build designs that have purpose in it’s DNA.

Comment below if you have any questions or if you think it helped. I would love to know your thoughts.

Happy Designing!