Designing Details

Paul Bennett talks about how the little things in design are the things that can really make an impact, and how the simplest solutions are practical etc. The philosophy behind it is that designing is not always about new ideas and solutions to problems, little things around us that we look past everyday can bring out new opportunities for development. Relating to this Bennett touches on how everyone is actually designing, people design their own experience subconsciously; such as the teabag string around the cup handle. We are using the little things around use to facilitate ourselves, and in a way creating our own design solutions.

Another interesting point mentioned by Bennett is that form is not always the most important thing in design. Designing is not always concentrated on form but rather, other aspects such as practicality, usability etc. But the most important point I think, is that designers often neglect the human element, where human interaction can sometimes overpower the form and aesthetics of a product, where this interaction is the most important thing to consider.

What I also find intriguing is that there is a need for a designer to know the market, to know, to be and live like the people they are designing for. By putting themselves into someone else's shoes there is a whole new level of understanding. For example the designer for IKEA was sitting under tables to understand a child's point of view. Through this they found a different stratum of thinking in children, by understanding this, they were then able to create a storage product more suited to a child.