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Quote
of the Week:
All solitary dreamers know that they hear differently when they close their eyes.-Gaston Bachelard
Design versus Style
I recent column over at A List Apart nailed it regarding the difference between "design" and "style".
"Wha?", you say?
Well, think about it for a moment. For something to be well-designed, it must meet the functional needs and expectations of the user. For it to be styled well, it must live up to the aesthetic needs and expectations of the user. An important difference. Often, design and style influence each other, and good style often is just as important to a successful marketing effort, or branding effort, or architectural effort, as design. But a fun style doesn't always lead to a beneficial experience, at least in the funcitonal sense.
In his article "The Bathing Ape Has No Clothes (and other notes on the distinction between style and design)", Adam Greenfield discusses why modernism is often seen in well-designed books, websites, architecture, and even fashion; and why some really interesting Japanese movements in "design" that end up influencing young upstart designers worldwide aren't necessarily leading to a design expression, but rather to a stylistic one.
His key point opposes The Bathing Ape (said Japanese design concern) with the design philosophy and studies behind British Rail. Everything from signage to rialway maps to the angle of armrests in railcars is influenced by the all-encompassing function-driven understanding that the BritRail folks undertook. And not only does it fulfill the main mission of moving people around Brittania efficiently, but it also ends up looking pretty damn cool at the same time. Style serves design. Or rather style and design both serve function.
That's all I'll say here. Go read the article, whether you're a designer or just someone looking for one. You'll get a lot out of the discussion.
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