a reality of design

One of the most complicated things for people to grasp is understanding that true design doesn't happen in physical form. The process of design is solving a problem, that means identifying it and coming to conclusions about the entities that surround that problem. Let's start here; design has happened for hundreds of years. To iterate again and force focus, literally, hundreds of years. None of those years did anyone have Photoshop. Design does not by any means happen inside Photoshop. For instance who was a better designer, Claude Monet or Benjamin Franklin? Of course, Benjamin Franklin! Marc Newson said it best in Urban Spaceman, "It looks great because of what it does and how it answers particular issues." •••• One of the things we're going to be trying at Groupon is telling PM's that they're not allowed to (rather not inclined to) bring their laptops to initial meetings. The focus will be on pencil, paper, imagination & communication (clearly understanding the vision well enough to articulate it). Point is to steer away from visual focus ("Something similar to this" - Anyone). Because like we're thinking in this,

Design is not completely a visual thing (we should be architects not painters). And yes, by thinking this it does conclude that almost anyone could be a designer. But that's what is so incredible about the opportunity; a large company & force thinking of design as the pathway to problem solving. Which is exactly how design should be treated. •••• The really neat by-product of the Web is that it has allowed us to look onto life with a new reality. There was a brief discussion about the difference between a toy and a utility toward an online Product. The fundamentals of life would tell us that they're obviously very different. A washing machine you can ride like a horse? Probably not the best. A 5 lb wrench you give to your 1 year old? No sir. But in the Web it's plausible to make these two things match. The question becomes, should you? I can't answer that since that's not the problem I'm attempting to solve. But asking the "why" question becomes exactly the point. The best things in the world have been created from imagination, lets not stop now.

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@ Patrick Algrim