Design and compromise

Good design requires compromise. Simple. I have learnt a lot of things throughout my creative life but this is a lesson which is only just starting to sink in. Any designer working commercially will tell you about the time and budget constraints which they face on a daily basis and how this means they have to make compromises with their big, sparkling, fantastic design concepts. This can't be avoided though and therefore it seems silly to devote some time complaining about it.

The compromise I think is worthy of our time is best described by the differences between Apple and Microsoft. Apple have become elevated to some higher level in recent years due to the aesthetic appeal and fantastic usability of their products. The really interesting thing is that this great design and usability has sometimes been the result of removing features that some people consider essential. In contrast Microsoft will cram in every feature any customer could ever want, but this results in products that are complicated or suffer poor usability. In both cases , compromises are being made. It is a fine balance to create an object that is both beautiful and true to it's purpose. Apple have been closer to the mark though in my opinion. This old but still comical video proves the point pretty well.

Being a designer I want things to look their very best and a certain amount of white space is essential to this, think of me as Apple, but from a marketing point of view we naturally want to make sure the message is clear. Like with Microsoft, this often involves a good amount of extra copy, making sure each point is made well. The struggle begins. Copy vs space, design vs message it's the eternal battle that designers face and the only answer is to use that word we started with, compromise. A good designer is not stubborn, they roll with the punches and adapt. I'm not saying you shouldn't stand up for yourself if you strongly believe in your work but I am saying you should pick your battles.