The BAD Design. A Necessary evil?

Bad design allows us to make a comparison. Without bad design good design wouldn’t exist…it would just be design. In the same way that if there was no dark, light would not have the same meaning as it does now. In essence one can’t exist without the other…we need both the yin and yan: good design and bad design.

Don’t aim for design utopia.
I often here designers and day-out designers complaining about the quantity of badly designed websites which exist on the web…they make it their mission to create a web utopia of perfectly designed websites. But inevitably as is the case with any utopian ideal…it turns into dystopia. Remember Atlantis? This was the first sample of a utopian society. In the search for perfection the leaders of the society needed to create a hierarchy to get the work done…this hierarchy created division which ultimately ended in war and destruction aka dystopia.

Use bad design for comparison and to reinforce your point
Bad designs are also a useful tool when educating your clients. It is useful to make comparisons to good and bad as this comparison makes your reasoning starker. “This is how it should be done” is more powerful when put alongside”and this is how it shouldn’t be done.”

To help you differentiate between good and bad design I’ve compiled two lists:

What is Bad Design? Bad design is…

• Bad design is generic and quick to conform.
• Has no hierarchy.
• Makes you work hard to find what you are after…
• Is overly complex…with elements having no particular purpose.
• Is like a tin or sardines.
• Shouts loudly yet carries no clear message.
• Bad design is painful on the eye.

What is Good Design? Good design is…

• Good design is innovative.
• Good design makes a product useful.
• Good design is aesthetic.
• Good design makes a product understandable.
• Good design is unobtrusive.
• Good design is honest.
• Good design is long-lasting.
• Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
• Good design is environmentally friendly.
• Good design is as little design as possible.

How do you become a bad designer?
By beginning design without any schooling. In a recent talk with graphic designer Christopher hewison we compared a bad designer to a monkey in an armoury. Our message here was that the monkey will most probably end up blowing himself up as he has not been trained to use these weapons, in a similar way to how a bad designer has not been taught how to use design techniques. Many DIY designers feel that because they have learnt a technique they have license to use it, the skill lies in knowing when and where to use this technique. Fundamentally what I’m getting at is that in the wrong hands these design techniques can be used as weapons of mass destruction rather than mass creation.

Good Design is timeless.
Some make a case for these bad designs along the lines of “In it’s time the design was actually pretty contemporary….good design is timeless so this argument can go straight out the window.

The final word
In conclusion I’m not advocating bad designs just reminding you that they have a position in the food chain which makes the good design good and the great design great.

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