Alice Rawsthorn argues in her article, “Does the Digital Age Overcomplicate Design?”, that products are becoming increasingly difficult to use because the design is increasing in complexity as well. She claims some products are made to seem more complex to hide the fact that there has been no changes to the prior product. Her conclusion is that designers are doing a horrible job either at making the product simple to use or hiding the lack of innovation.
Here is a washing machine that seems impossible to operate:
I agree with Alice, more buttons and options isn’t always better. Designers of products and new technologies should simplify it for the average consumer to use. For example, a washing machine doesn’t need a tens of options. People still wash their clothes at the laundromat and those machines are relatively easy to use. If someone choose to purchase their own washing machine then it should be better, easier to use, and more pleasant than the laundromat’s washing machine.
The responsibilities of the designer should consist of more than aesthetics. They must take into considerations of their users. The product they design should respond to the market or population they are trying to reach, not the other way around. Under no circumstance, should a designer attempt to pass off complexity as innovation. That is deceiving to the consumers and entirely unreasonable. It is similar to covering up a failure or fake.
I don’t believe that all products should be simple and less complex. If the piece of technology was meant to be used by the masses or those without specialized knowledge then the product should be simple. On the other hand, if the product is meant to be used by specialists, then the product should be complex to allow for more variations and customization. Specialists include scientists, engineers, doctors and other various fields. The technologies they use should be complex because complexity usually allows for wider range of options that they will need to operate in their respective fields. In conclusion, I believe designers need to make it simple as possible for the general population, but the opposite for specialists, who might require those extra options.
This article originally appeared in the New York Times. Citation:
Rawsthorn, Alice. “Does the Digital Age Overcomplicate Design?” New York Times. 22 Sept. 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
The Washing Machine Picture:
Brion, Alexis. “User Experience of the Everyday Life: The Washing Machine.” Design VS Art Blog. 9 Nov. 2008. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/arts/design/does-digital-age-overcomplicate-design.html?src=me&_r=0
This article made me think of Jon Ive, who is the Senior Vice President of Design at Apple. He is easily recognizable for his unique approach on design for Apple products. I can almost always easily picture him, in his smooth British English, say how he believes a product’s design is only truly beautiful when it embraces simplicity, clarity, and efficiency. He brings about “order to complexity.”
I think that the companies that make their products look complex and intimidating tend to lose customers. The average consumer would always want to be comfortable using a product and not have to slow down to read the instruction manual. The smart companies would make enormous profits are the ones that focus on what their consumers want, bringing about a product design that promotes simplicity, while still being technologically advanced.
Alan, I definitely agree with your opinion on focusing on the general population while still catering to specialized users on some products. But in the end, it’s all about what the board members of the companies want to decide on. They may want to cut products if they’re too specialized and if not enough people buy them to make a profit.
Hey Alan,
I think you picked out a really cool article and I almost completely agree with the author and what you said in response. I only disagree with your point that over complexity would be useful for specializations like doctors. I think that the article is trying to relate that companies are adding more buttons and levers to seem more accomplished, but in reality these additions make the product harder to use. She conveys that companies add fluff to their products and specialized or not, I believe concise is always better for the consumer.
I found the article especially interesting because the point the article makes overlaps with topics outside of technology. The idea that through adding complexity you or your product can seem more intelligent is not specific to creating and innovating. For instance, in writing people constantly attempt to create long wordy sentences to seem smart, when in reality they cloud the meaning of what they are trying to convey. I have been learning about the significance of being clear and concise in writing and I think the same train of thought applies to innovation in technology. A great example would be the use of doublespeak within 1984. The writer describes a situation where the government goes out of its way to confuse the general public so they are oblivious to what is happening, and this is exactly what goes on in this “innovation”.
Austin
I really like the phrase “gratuitous complexity” that the author of the article uses. It definitely reminds me of the current Iphone and Samsung Galaxy craze. Apple is on its 6th model of Iphone and they keep trying to update and add new features to give a sense of in some cases, “false superiority”. This exaggerates the generational gap that is being seen and becoming more and more prominent ex. the character not being able to use a modernized washing machine, something that should be seen as simple. I just had a conversation with relatives of mine that touched on this very subject. They spoke of the over complication of simple inventions. Some people JUST want a phone and don’t need all the “bells and whistles” of a “new” model. When the article’s author wrote about the car models, I immediately thought of `The Homer’-a car that Homer Simpson built in an episode of The Simpsons. It seems to be so awesome in it’s design and features, but yet it is so impractical for it’s actual use. This, in a sense is what we are coming to. A link to the picture of ‘The Homer’–>
http://www.google.com/imgres?client=firefox-a&hs=AlK&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=fflb&biw=1570&bih=834&tbm=isch&tbnid=8-3CV2tStdbuPM:&imgrefurl=http://onscreencars.com/tv/the-homer-the-car-built-for-homer/&docid=B2yLY6XKJ3oPvM&imgurl=http://onscreencars.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/TheHomer.jpg&w=494&h=282&ei=zd5FUt7mJrO34AO87oD4Ag&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:4,s:0,i:101&iact=rc&page=1&tbnh=168&tbnw=296&start=0&ndsp=17&tx=168&ty=86
I agree with you. It definitely makes sense that designers would just overcomplicate things rather than making things easier just to “show change”. However, we’re in a better age now where everything is trying to improve everyday. How does it make sense for designers to make things even harder for us to do? If you think about it, it’s almost like we’re taking two steps back because 1. There is no change in the productivity and 2. there is no efficiency if it’s going to take longer for me to understand a product.
This kind of irritated me a bit because designers should be looking out for us, not just the appearance of their company and products.
Janice Fong
As someone who is not technology savvy, I totally agree with you and Rawsthorn. It is extremely frustrating when I can’t complete basic tasks like doing laundry because there are so many buttons and options. In my opinion, there is no need for everyday machines to be so complicated. I believe people stray away from complex technology because they simply do not understand how to use it. Companies are actually losing customers because their products are too complicated. I also liked your point about keeping products simpler for the general public and more complex for specialists. Specialists are trained in their field and are more likely to understand how to use complicated technology whereas the general public does not have that kind of advanced knowledge.
Technology has been on this crazy uphill path for so long now; we are always coming up with something newer, better, faster. Yet those who are desperate to sell their products are trying to take advantage of this trend by making their appliances SEEM new and better. I think we have to realize that it may not be 100% about the happiness of the customers to company owners. I don’t think they really care if we buy something and find it complicated or don’t realize that it’s not that advanced from the last edition, as long as we have already bought it and they’ve profited from that.
It’s ironic that, by trying to make things easier for us and have technology take care of every possible detail, we are only making things harder!
I also feel like this can be compared to the “progess” of smart phones. When the iPhone 5 was about to come out, there was so much hype surrounding its new features. Jimmy Kimmel decided to perform a little experiment with the general public. He sent his crew out with an iPhone 4s, who presented it to random people on the street and told them that it was the 5. They seemed to be in awe of the iPhone, commenting that it was so much better and lighter compared to their iPhone 4s in their other hand. Little did they know..they were holding the same phone! So is technology still increasing at drastic rates, or are we being fooled into thinking that it is?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdIWKytq_q4
I agree with you on the matter of complexity for machines. I too feel that regular household appliances and other electronics intended for regular customers need to be simple. As an extreme example, my mother used to have a flip phone until she upgraded to the iphone 4s. Now she constantly bothers me about all the functions. There are functions that she will never use that are presented to her so I have to explain. I think it comes from the difficulty in trying to reconcile the two directions people want technology to go: simplicity and versatility. As technology advances, consumers want more advanced phones that have more options. But consumers are sometimes unwilling to learn how to use the more complicated functions. This creates a lot of frustration.
But experts, as you said, need more complex tools and technology to get the job done. While a regular customer does not need an extremely complex smart phone, a phone that allows you to get work done can be invaluable to people with difficult jobs. But there needs to be a distinction between the phones meant for experts and the phones meant for regular consumers.
I sympathize with product designers who feel that they need to continue to come up with new designs and ways to make products seem interesting and innovative. I do agree, however, that making unnecessarily complicated additions to what we now consider basic machines is a bad way to go about trying to sell products. Despite the many changes and improvements in technology, we still seek out convenience and practicality (as we learned in BUS1000). I think the answer lies in creating more sleek and streamlined designs instead of ones that are crammed with unnecessary options.