From our newsletter Outside the Lines

What’s Gone a Little Stale?

Tell me if you’ve experienced the difference between these…

==> Strawberries you’ve picked yourself … or supermarket strawberries, tasteless and bland

==> Fresh brownies out of the oven … or dry, over-packaged store-bought brownies

==> Fresh roasted and ground coffee … or aged instant coffee

Well, I’m hungry. But that’s not quite the point I want to make.

The point is that things are best when they’re fresh. And that many things - newsletters included - can be “freshened up”.

But design isn’t just about a fresh new look. It serves a deeper purpose.

You’re drowning in stuff

Who doesn’t feel overwhelmed by choice these days? 29 “to dos” on today’s to-do list. 42 different types of toothpaste. 79 channels on the TV. A gazillion websites you could look at. It goes on and on.

Because things have changed. You see, it used to be that content was the thing that made the difference. This is the good version, this is the not so good version. And obviously enough, you took the good version.

But now, there ARE no “not so good” versions. Or at least, there’s more than enough “good” versions out there. Of everything: TVs, potato peelers, blogs, bikes, you name it.

So how do you decide where to invest your time and energy and money?

When you’re drowning, good design is a life raft.

CherryBomb: my favourite coffee shop

Just around the corner is my new favourite coffee shop. It’s one of 12 on a not so long street (and that’s not even counting the diners), and none of them are bad. OK, one is. But all the others are perfectly fine. And I’m guessing CherryBomb gets 3 or 4 times the number of patrons than the next most popular java joint.

The other day, grabbing an excellent double espresso, I asked the guy behind the counter what he thought was the secret to their success.

And he said: “We keep it simple. We’ve removed all the obstacles to people getting a cup of coffee they enjoy. Everything from the type of coffee available, the prices (everything “on the quarter”), the way the queue works - it’s all about keeping it simple.”

In other words, they’ve separated themselves from the crowd by design.

Design is what enhances your content, differentiates what you’re about, takes things from “fine - and pretty average” to excellent.

(I’d love to know what your favourite examples of design are - jot them down in the Comments below).

Does my butt look big in this?

(I just wanted to say that).

Here are three questions I use to help me think about design.

Apply them to a challenge you’re facing now:
- how to tidy up your kitchen
- how to manage your organization’s change project
- the layout of your desk
- how to… [insert what matters to you]

==> 1. What will I stand for?

Because design is meant to enhance what’s going on. So what’s at the core of this? What do you want? What do you want to stand for?

==> 2. What can I remove?

Many of us unwittingly follow this rule: When in doubt, add more stuff.

I tend to favour the Einstein approach: “Things should be as simple as possible, and no simpler.”

So what’s excess to requirements? What can you cut? What’s essential? (and therefore, what’s not?)

==> 3. What’s unpredictable?

What are the sensible, reasonable, long-standing rules that you’re following with this? The rules about “this is how things have to be”. The rules that you’re making up. That you’re assuming.

And by the way, there are at least five of these rules.

Pick one of them, and see what you could and would do if you broke that rule.

(Let me know what challenge you’re taking on by leaving your thoughts in Comments)