Comments on: What is successful Design? We ask this because…actually we can’t remember why.

By: Jasveen Sahota

Jasveen Sahota — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 06:08:00 +0000

Is successful design the same as good design? Can a bad design sometimes prove to be a successful design? No and yes if you are talking in terms of how many people adopt the product. To me good design and successful design are two different things.

By: trendoffice

trendoffice — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 17:04:19 +0000

The chair above is definitely not a successful design:)

By: Nancy Manning

Nancy Manning — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:36:35 +0000

Since we do work for others and need to meet their living requirements, I consider it successful when they are happy with the result.

By: Joseph

Joseph — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 04:41:36 +0000

Interestingly enough, the chair does seem to perform part of its function in that it is laid out correctly. For a chair to be comfortable, the back should be tilted back at eleven degrees, and the seat should come up at five degrees. You can get by without tilting the seat up, but if you don’t tilt the back, it is very hard to sit in them for an extended period of time. Frank Lloyd Wright knew that about the chairs he designed for his homes, of course, and said he couldn’t sit in his own designs for any length of time. But he was so enamored of those backs coming up at a straight ninety degrees from the seat that he let the function of the chair go down the tubes.

Beyond function, there is also the aesthetics of the chair. One of the chair makers I found myself liking quite a bit was an unassuming man who felt that a chair or any other item of furniture he made should just quietly do its job. On that scale, every one of the chairs you used as a hideous example is well-described.

By: Bill Buyok

Bill Buyok — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 01:55:28 +0000

Successful design is when my need or goal is met or my problem solved. “Need” and “problem” imply both form and function. Otherwise, we’d all use stainless steel sanitary ware on a concrete floor for our bathroom and call it done.

There is no single “correct answer” for successful design, since we all have different needs. My aesthetic and needs may be very different than yours and require a different approach. Very little importance should be placed on what “we” in the sidelines have to say, it has to do with the need that I define and the style I desire.

Certain designs will have universal appeal or be timely. However, some designs are destined only or ephemeral success like that train-wreck of a chair.

By: Craig VanDevere

Craig VanDevere — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:04:03 +0000

For me the design is successful, when all the dust settles, the client/user is in their facility, space or home and they express in various ways how the built environment has met and/or exceeded their expectations at all levels (funtionality, visual appearance, cost, etc.).

I assume that would hold true for most designed elements whether a building or a bookcase. Otherwise IMO things may start to get rather subjective unless there are some very clear reasons as to how one came to those conclusions/decisions.

By: ModernSauce

ModernSauce — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:02:21 +0000

I would say ‘success’ is as arbitrary as ‘taste’ except when looking at the atrocities above. A chair that appears virtually unusuable to actually sit on is unsuccessful design. Perhpas it IS a successful art installation. But in contrast to that if I made a wooden box that you could sit on that would be a much more successfully designed chair! My final answer? I have no idea!

Thanks for the blog-off question!

By: Rich Holschuh

Rich Holschuh — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:07:58 +0000

I work from scratch. I start from the ground up. I meet with my clients, I visit the site. We talk, we get a feel for each other and for the intended application. This is important – we are creating a new substantive existence, a realization of many factors cast into a cohesive whole. It results in a manifestation of functional art, which I think is another way to say “successful design”. It’s that intersection Paul refers to… I am so passionate about my craft because it is never a dull moment – every new situation demands its own appropriate response; it is a welcome and rewarding challenge. And I am always appropriate… well, most of the time …

By: admin

admin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:50:56 +0000

Couldn’t agree with you more and yes, it happens. It is so easy to make the client fall in love with a design and everyone get’s caught up in the other’s excitement until…..the morning after. When it comes down to brass tax. By the way I think it happens both ways, designers can’t over dream and have to also keep the client from getting carried away. Doing this is in a responsible way, still keeping the excitement for the project going and creating an aesthetically pleasing and functional solution is what makes a designer and it’s what makes a designer worthy of his or her fees.

By: Bob Borson

Bob Borson — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:46:37 +0000

Your question is one of those Icarus questions because there is no right answer. I don’t think it successful design hinges no either the word ‘design’ or ‘successful’ although I think that is a clever distinction. I think that in order to provide an answer you have to define it or give it meaning so that it can be judge one way or another. For me, my definition is in order to have a successful design, it has to have meaning and relevancy. That’s it. Is that less than 140 characters? That way, good or bad, it’s contributing and making an impact (which btw is my definition of design).