I recently read "On Taste and Congruence" by Ametora expert and writer W. David Marx.
After sharing it with a friend, we discussed how taste and congruence manifest in design-led companies.
During the Christmas break, I've been thinking about these concepts and trying to clarify my thoughts. I haven't quite thought it through yet, but it's worth documenting my current understanding for future exploration.
The article "On Taste and Congruence" summarises that good taste requires congruence in choice, meaning that the choices work together harmoniously to express a particular sensibility or identity. Individuals either achieve congruence or not in their lifestyle choices, but congruence is perhaps even more important for commercial establishments.
Design influences outcomes and serves as a decision-making tool
To me, design at its core means trying to influence a specific outcome. It's about taking action to transform the current situation into a more desirable one.
It follows that design is a sum of decisions made in creating this new system. Decision-making is an essential part of the design process and has a direct impact on the quality of the outcomes.
Effective design decisions are based on a deep understanding of the problem space (problem finding first and problem solving second) and consideration of the broader context and implications, alignment with (business) goals and strategic foresight.
Show me the results
From my experience as a designer or product leader, I've seen some of the ways in which design can have a positive impact on a company.
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Design improves the usability, accessibility, and enjoyment that users have with a product or service, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
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Design shapes customer perception and interaction with a brand, improving brand perception.
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Design sets a company apart from its competitors and makes its products or services more recognizable and desirable on the market.
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Design increases sales and market share by understanding and meeting users' needs and desires.
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Design simplifies and optimizes business processes, increases efficiency, and reduces the cost of internal operations by creating better tools and environments for employees and improving productivity and job satisfaction.
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Design leads to informed and effective strategic decisions.
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Design thinking promotes a culture of innovation that drives the creation of new products, services, and processes and opens up new markets and revenue streams.
In short, a design-led company:
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adopts a user-centered approach to ensure that products and services meet the real needs of users and meaningfully solve problems;
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recognizes design as a strategic asset, not just an esthetic consideration;
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integrates design practice into the entire development and delivery process of products and services;
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aligns design goals with business objectives.
How to define good taste in business?
Design is inherently subjective; what appeals to one group may not be well received by another or in different industries. This is especially true for esthetic choices such as typography, colors, visual style, or visual elements used.
According to Marx's article, all elements and decisions must work together seamlessly, reflecting the company's identity and values while satisfying user needs, from the physical touchpoints to the interface and branding.
Therefore, design-driven organizations prioritize user needs and experiences and ensure that design decisions are purposeful and align with the intended user experience and brand identity.
Good taste implies sophistication and appropriateness, while congruence ensures product consistency and coherence, reinforcing purpose and appeal to the target audience.
Are all design-led companies good at design?
If we are not the intended users, we cannot judge the product by its appearance. There must be some guiding principles that can be used to check whether a company is design-oriented or not.
From the company's point of view, it's impossible to check every decision the team makes. So you need guiding principles.
Here are some tactics to use at a broad and general level:
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Through user research, design-driven companies gain insights into the needs, preferences, and behaviors of their target audience, which helps them develop products that resonate well with users.
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By focusing on users and business outcomes, design-led companies justify choices based on their impact rather than personal preferences.
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An iterative design process that includes prototyping, testing, and refining ensures that the delivered product aligns with changing expectations.
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Establishing design principles and guidelines ensures consistency and coherence across the company's offerings, helping to overcome subjectivity.
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A clear strategy that links the company's vision and mission informs design decisions.
However, as these principles are universal and generally applicable, I'd like to mention two principles that I always take into account in my daily work.
"Complexity is like energy. It cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be moved somewhere else."
Someone has to bear the complexity; if the company asks customers to bear the load, it is not design-led. But the company that solves complexity for the customer but does not take care of its own processes is just as problematic as asking customers to deal with it. Fortunately, technology today can internalize complexity more and more.
"Everyone focuses on the customer."
Developing great products and providing excellent services is a team sport. Everyone contributes their expertise and focus. However, excellent experiences can only be created if everyone deeply cares about the whole thing. And customer happiness (as a result of an excellent customer experience) is a simple metric that everyone can rally around.
Short detour. An objection or bottleneck may be the slowness of decision-making or the slowness of progress in the move- fast-break-things. However, I believe there is no universal speed or time spent on user research. Also, there are great resources for these tactical questions, like Just Enough Research by Erika Hall.
Design-led companies prioritize design as a core component of their strategy, culture, and processes. These companies recognize that design is not just about esthetics, but is a strategic tool that can drive innovation, differentiate products and services, and create a competitive advantage.
In design-led companies, congruence is essential. It ensures harmony between all elements of a product or service. This coherence strengthens the purpose of the product and increases its appeal to the target market.
When done right, design is not a loss on the balance sheet and should not be bought or sold as such. Design is an investment in the company and keeps the wheels of the business running smoothly.