Oct 27, 2011
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The Power of the Ugly
Recently, it seems there has been an overflow of devices and software with good, well designed interfaces. These have put powerful capabilities in the hands of many people, unlocking creativity. But there is an interface beyond design and chaos beyond channeled creativity. Design is an organizing principle. It is a construct for accessing capabilities. It provides an interface and a context. Way beyond good, intuitive design there is the ugly. We are in the early stages of the ugly.
Intuitiveness is a function of how well an interface conforms to a person’s expectations. Great interfaces can be a step beyond the expectations, making design nearly invisible. A person’s expectations are often a function of the environment in which they operate or into which they have been acculturated. Interfaces have gone through various stages reflecting the environments which have surrounded people. Earlier interfaces (user controls, manuals, processes and procedures) reflected a person being in a production line. They played a part in a larger, linear process.
After, interfaces reflected the hierarchy of functional organizations, adding dimensionality to the interface and the capacity to do more across multiple functions. The sharpest designed interfaces of today are refinements of this approach, paring down the functions and assuming the dimensionality required for any particular person. Where we are now, are task-based approaches mashed-up across multiple service capabilities. Interface definition is “me” centric rather than being oriented around tasks defined by the organization or functionality. In some sense, this is a special case of personalizing the tasks. But a powerful case. The tasks are user defined. The person is at the center of the definition and accesses the capability directly. The capabilities available are beyond the boundaries of the pre-definition of an organizational structure or design principle.
A testament to the power of the design is the extent to which the capabilities are in demand (see article on why we buy tools), which has allowed the creation of supply chains that make those capabilities affordable, available and easy to replenish.
“Me” centric design has opened a new frontier. Where the frontier is once again open, constructs will be challenged. There will be interfaces that are ugly, ineffective, un-intuitive and just plain hard. There will be power unleashed in a chaotic fashion, without a “beautiful” or even discernable organizing principle. They will be so because the capabilities created will be beyond existing contexts. The capabilities will define and create a new environment.
Then from there, the cycle will start with an organizing principle evolving to exploit those capabilities most effectively. Effectiveness will be defined, as in all human endeavors, in the marketplace and battlefield (in fact we are seeing it already with app developers, low-cost tablets and IEDs – capabilities beyond existing organizing principles). Barriers will grow to those capabilities as their range and dimensionality are explored and organized into interfaces (processes, procedures, etc.). Then again, good design will make them commodities and re-open them to creativity and innovation.
We are in the early stages of the ugly.
