Thinking of professional Internet product designers: what is design?

First of all, this topic is not suitable for my experience, but as the design of 7-8 years of work, this is to have to think about the problem, today is just and you report my own ideas, this is only, comments if there is improper, is purely reference.

--Difficult (Lcjeremy)

　Once upon a time to do design difficulties

I do visual design is also small and years did not mix up what achievements, has done advertising companies, media companies, television media and internet companies, small to a few people's record company studios, large to thousand people million group. My understanding of design is gradually changing with the growth. Remember the last time and Ued's own brothers eat, and wine three rounds of brothers share a predecessor said: "The designer is a very sincere career, if you are not sincere to the design, then you must not do." "It's simple to say, but how far can this sincerity make you?" during the advertising company, the daily face of the market "vague demand" and the customer's "rude request", but also cheated on the manuscript, and was tortured to change the manuscript countless times. Overnight, instant noodles, a logo has been changed more than 50 times, diligent to do "design." I think a lot of people who do design have experiences like this, right? Once the university has just graduated, after the community on the design of the sincerity is still in? The reason for the original choice to do design is also very simple-like. I was even thankful that I had done what I liked. But in the face of these "tortures," have you slowly discovered that your career destiny may be just a craftsman? Maybe I also feel that their career life is only more than 30 years old, but also a sense of the design of this industry and the University of their vision of the different, and the difference is too big. I don't know if you ever thought about it, I thought about it anyway.

So some people around the design began a move-career change. Because they found that in the community to do the design is too unreliable. Everyone is a round God. Because they found that there are other things that designers have to face in addition to design. For example: customer demand side of the "unreasonable requirements", the face of tough boss on the design of the interference, the design time to consider the irrational, the company and product development of the design of the lack of attention to the design of the work of the evaluation without basis, and the designer himself can not find the way to self-improvement and We're not going to talk about it. Because the customer can't express what they want in the design language, it's not clear. Also do not talk about is not a designer mentality problem. Just think to understand the word "like" is not easy? is to insist on how hard it is to love this reason?

　　Why design?

As a designer in Internet products, the question that may occasionally be considered is why design? From the school for their own design, to the community for the boss to do design, to do design for customers, to today we serve a variety of needs, for the needs of the design. Seems to be a process that serves others. In the process of the face of all kinds of loss of self-worth of the bad feelings. But on the one hand these feelings are precisely because you take the product as someone else's product, regard oneself as the product production line of a link only this. If you think of yourself as the whole product from the birth to the operation of the owner, and then back to do the design of this task, you will have a different height and understanding. On the other hand, it is clear that the reason why the designer exists is because the designer has the problem that he needs to solve, and this problem may be precisely the problem that the product uses or the sale encounters: The interface needs to use better, need to be more beautiful, this is a product availability or not a bonus. In the product, the design is always around the function to do. The core function uses the core vision to express, the detached function design also loses the existence the significance, this is also each line, each element exists in the product interface significance. We all know that the quality of the design is not quantifiable, there is never the best design, but the most suitable design. It's as if anyone would be foolish to stand in their own shoes and talk about the quality of the user experience, it's just a subjective feeling. So I never say a word: "Stand on the user's point of view ...".

　　What makes you believe that? The status of "Craftsman" and "division".

"I don't think so, I think it's very stingy." When a client says that to you, he is questioning your design, even questioning whether you understand it or not. Now, when we get to a project, we tend to compress designers for a short time, this is the grief of most internet and even design companies, in such a short period of time how to fully understand the needs, and the demand side can not use the design language to describe it, just say "atmosphere, exquisite" This kind of puzzled need to describe him. This is almost impossible for a designer to do well. In fact, the demand side needs to be designed to solve the first functional requirements, regardless of what his focus is on. Of course, he still needs his product to look a little bit too good for someone to use it. can achieve a certain level of this purpose, and not necessarily through what they call "large characters, bold, gold" and so on such a design method to achieve. Most of them would rather believe in their own aesthetic than to believe in a design. But why would you let him believe you have the ability to solve this problem? So you have to focus on your own design, you have to become the owner of the product, for him to think about the problem, for the product concerns. Worry about how he promoted, how to become better use, how to let people accept him, both sides are clear on these issues, and then look at what visual design, can not affect the core function of the premise, to add color to the product. I've seen a lot of designers and need to communicate, the first thing I love to ask is "when will this be?" Is this just a little something to do? It must make the other person think you're just a craftsman, a man who eats by craft. Just like to repair a bicycle, say: "Which is broken? How long will it be fixed?" So how do you win people's trust in you? The result is only to be singled out for your fault. Speaking of craftsmen, I make an analogy. Everyone must have been to a beauty shop or a barber shop to get a haircut. The barber's career, from the name of the big to have called image designer, hair stylist, small to have called shave. The price of cutting a hair more than thousands of fast, less than a few dollars, this is how it? I'm not saying that a designer's career plan should be to go to a higher-end enterprise, although that's one aspect. But have you ever wondered why someone would go to an expensive beauty parlor to get a haircut? Of course, customers can afford it, and second, they have a lot of trust in hair stylist there. Why trust? Because they have had countless success stories, received many honors, and perhaps had the honor to give a certain star design hairstyle. A strange person sits in front of a beautician, the designer carefully observes the guest's face shape, the guest's dress and the conversation temperament, soon may have the temperament to understand to him, Simple asks the guest usually the hobby, likes to see what movie, listens to what music, usually has what interest hobby and so on, then may know the guest to the esthetic understanding degree. Through the communication for guests to propose a number of hair styles of professional buildingFor guests to choose, and change the hairstyle after the short discomfort and why the new hairstyle will be more suitable for him (her), this hairstyle can help the guest what, promotion which aspect temperament all talk out, even if the guest because of oneself reason cannot accept, also will feel you are for the guest to think and has certain professional degree. And some barbers come up and ask, "What hairstyle do you want to cut?" And then you start saying, for example, the front is a little bit longer, the back is shorter, the ear is not too short, not too long, a little fluffy so that there is no standard words. Then you must think, this guy is a haircut. Design is not quantifiable, once the design is quantified, the designer is really a craftsman. Also naturally does not deserve this "the teacher" the word son, at most is "the Carpenter".

In my opinion, there are not many designers in China who can match the "teacher", although we are all called designers. The "Carpenter" is what the guest knows what he wants, gives clear design specifications and specific design requirements, then talks with the craftsman about the time, the price, and then the builders start. If it can be completed on time according to quality, it is a certain professional degree of the craftsmen. and "Division" is a guest to throw a problem to be solved, and you have the ability to let customers trust you, you also have to give guests the choice of options, and stand at a certain height, even the guests did not think of the height for him to build products. And your ability to build products have several aspects: first, experience and methods, the second is the vision, the third is technology. Technology is just the basic skill, the vision and experience need to accumulate for a long time. In fact, the most difficult thing to do here is to let customers trust you, you want to convince the guest that you need to meet three important conditions: one is that you prove you are skilled, the second is that you have to have a direct or indirect success story, and the third is that you better be in an authoritative organization or company. The more you are able to have these conditions, or the more you add, the higher your level of trust will be. Worthy of the "division" is not many people, this and said that the overall water quality of Chinese designers does not have an absolute relationship, in fact, this also with the whole industry to the degree of attention to design. Because domestic customers are not willing to pay a large price in the design, their understanding of the brand has not been to foreign companies to the degree of attention to the design. Like a We are not particularly rich at a time, may be more willing to less money in a small place to deal with their own hair generally, unsightly, short ugly point is okay, can see people on the line. Or the demand for your own hairstyle has not exceeded the requirements for other objects. Of course, if you happen to meet a designer who is not so easy to believe, you will not be willing to spend the money. But when one day China's cottage can no longer live, when foreign production orders are not so steady, domestic free brands began to sell more abroad. Naturally there will be more and more people who can be called "teachers", at the same time also won the trust of others, there is technology, experience, have an eye to stand in a higher position to look at the product brand, can improve the usability of products, make suitable for his brand personality visual design, to create more than the product itself brand value. We have to believe that in the process of a mature industry, although there are undesirable places, but also just hidden huge opportunities. It is said that a mature enterprise needs three kinds of power, one is productivity, China absolutely belongs to a productive country, especially handicraft productivity. The second is the sales force, sales force is the most important channel, all the big brand value is the sale of this piece, while it has the image to help sales force, the product itself also needs the unique visual image of the support. Chinese enterprises, on the contrary, are productive, have a little sales force, and have absolutely no unique visual image. At this time the image force began to be taken seriously, with the brand visual judgment of the designer can have a certain amount of energy in the company, because eventually people will feelFeel that whether you do products or do operations, sales, in fact, are in the brand. and experienced designers, for the enterprise will be a very large demand.

　　Be a designer with a sense of purpose

The Chinese brand era is ready to start, or already on the road. We are engaged in the Internet industry, whether to do visual, interactive design of the students, we all catch up with a rapid development of the opportunity, but also catch up with a smoke is in succession to discuss how to enhance the user experience of the era. It's good if I say it's bad. At least it means that people are getting more and more concerned about experience. Visual design also began to focus on interactive design and user research, and even the technical aspects of the impact of experience, people become more comprehensive, the more thoughtful. This is like a graphic design after a period of time, you start to care about the material generally. To be a mission designer I think the key is to change the role of the designer, to look beyond the visual angle of view you do things, someone has said to "businessman" the mind to do the design, I feel that the requirements, although some high, but at least explained that a layer of meaning, is not simply to bow to do visual, interactive that thing. The difference between "the craftsman and the teacher" has been mentioned before, as a Chinese designer can be responsible for saying that 90% is also "the Craftsman", excluding the domestic designer creative ability, too quick to do things for the immediate benefit of the problem, but there is no real sense, can let people become "division" of the Trust of the environment. In the future China has so many enterprises need to do about the brand value of things to do, but it is because there is no professional image of this aspect of the people, the boss will slowly find that relying on their own aesthetic is not go far. It should be said that some really should be borne by the designer, they should seriously positioning their careers, update broaden their horizons, to look at the height of the product. Help enterprises to solve the marketing, product problems, while allowing those who are not beautiful design gradually from the quick success of the enterprise disappeared, so that the street is not beautiful design less, especially to do have a certain degree of dissemination of products. They should also impart skills and experience to other designers and use their horizons to influence new people. Produce a good inheritance and circulation, this should be a designer should have a sense of mission and vision. Instead of working until the age of 35, he would retire to 40. Finally leads to a long old problem, art and design of the relationship, because is a lot of people on the pretext that the design for the arts is "second-hand culture", can always compromise the business, art is different from the design can only be young rice, but whether it is the relationship between fish and bear's paw? Last month at the time of the day to see the original study of the design exhibition in the preface of a sentence, the general meaning is, "art is the reflection of reality and torture, and design is the real positive construction." "I feel that this is at least a positive vision and a pursuit, but rather a design as a responsibility rather than a job." Every designer should always think about the sincerity of your original design, and then think about whether you really loved it and I think it was necessary.