How To Categorize Great Design.
Art is not categorical so what are our benchmarks of success? First, we must take a continuum and break it into boundaries. For instance, a light spectrum has an infinite amount of colors intertwined in its foundational construction. Lines and circles have one thing in common in this regard, they are endless. Now, if we cut those continua into segmented parts, our now infinite marks contain benchmarks that are categorical. From here we can categorize a spectrum which in turn devolves into a color wheel, which contains 12 colors rather than an infinite amount. Categorical interactions are important because they allow us to store information away. Instead of remembering the infinite features of something, we can now simply say it’s “X.”
Examples of Categorical Descriptions
It’s a line the size of a ruler.
It’s a sub 4 minute mile.
It’s the color green.
We are taking a continuum and breaking into pieces to make things easier to deal with the facts.
Let us try to categorize shapes now to further entrance this concept.
Here we have 4 shapes.
A Circle
Square
Triangle
Abstract
We have 3 recognizable categories, but the 4 is something outside the realm of being categorical. Creating categories for things is a simplified way of dealing with complicated subjects. Language works in the same way. Humans have the capacity to make an infinite amount of sounds and yet we segment phonetics to give meaning. In a simplified way, this is language.
Following this motif forward, we run into the discretionary habit of imposing categories onto things that are not categorical. For instance, the phonetical sounds between a P and B for Finnish people are silent. Because there is no separation, we can easily become confused between the word bear and pear. Under the right circumstances, this can become catastrophic. I myself would rather be warned about a bear than a pear.
Professor Sapolsky from Stanford University describes just this. As he recites, Professor Sapolsky was learning how to biopsy the testicles of baboons. In doing so, he reached out to a fellow Finnish scientist who took Professor Sapolsky through the stretches on conducting these experiments. As we mentioned prior, the phonetical sound between a P and B in Finnish are identical. The Finnish scientist gave instruction to Sapolsky to test pears, but what Professor Sapolsky heard was to test on bears. Here we see the dangers of paying too much attention to categories that yield the inability to differentiate segments that fall within the same category. There is a dramatic differentiation we make when we put a boundary between something. In doing so, we initially lose how many similarities the two parts in question hold. When we create boundaries we ultimately lose the meaning of the whole.
“Discretionary habit of imposing categories onto things that are not categorical...”
How Do We Define Good Design?
No that we understand how people categorize to understand abstract concepts lets discuss how we can decide what good design is. Good design is typically defined by the experience it creates for a user or viewer. Good design is a vessel for visual communication. In design we use a series of Usability Heuristics that allow us to analyze and audit strengths and weaknesses. By measuring and segmenting these against universally established principles we can then judge whether our visual or physical experience follows our predestined rules.
Categorical Questions
Who is the product or deliverable intended for?
What are the goals and objectives in accordance to the defined user journeys.
Why are these goals valuable?
How is this value experienced by users?
Testing Your Design
Additional benchmarks we should look to hit when creating a product are the:
Visual Impact
Flow
Engagement
Appropriateness/Logic
“Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible, serving us without drawing attention to itself.”
Universal Design Rules
When designing your deliverables always keep these key universal concepts in mind. Combing these concepts with the more complex benchmarks we previously discussed will help you create the best product/service possible.
Hierarchy
Balance
Proportion
Contrast
Rhythm
Unity
Focal Points
Grids
Gestalt
