Style Is Not Design
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Eric Karjaluoto has an interesting take that makes perfect sense. He says that style is not design. To quote:
Design is such a multi-layered practice that it’s often difficult to define. That being said, I believe that the word “design” is increasingly confused with “style”. For example, to most “I like the way it’s designed” means that they like the way that something looks.
The visual aspect of what we do is highly important, and style has a place in that. For example, if we want to connect with a particular audience, employing a style can sometimes be helpful. That being said, it seems that style often leads efforts. We have to break this habit.
He’s absolutely right. There is more to design than making something “pretty.” Throughout his article he talks about things he believes should be happening in design. Design is too prone to trends and fashions and not on results. Ultimately, as designers, we should strive to solve a problem or create a solution. It may look pretty, or it may look simple and straightforward. The only issue is whether it accomplishes what our client needs (or more importantly, what our client’s clients/customers/audience/whomever needs). There are uses for every tool we have. Are we finding the appropriate ones? Do we do the research? Or are we following trends and dating ourselves before our work is even done? The choice is ours and the choice is easy: design to serve the need and use style as just another tool.
