8 Strategies for Harmonizing Design Aesthetics with Functionality

How do you really harmonize your aesthetics over functionality? Big designers also has a big problem handling this. I have worked in more than 64 + projects having dealt with 15/country different designers I worked with. I visited Bohus museum, one of the best museums for aesthetics and minimalism. I visited Sweden IKEA for understanding their design perspectives. Went over 50 plus museums European countries, over 5 to different 65 to 6 countries I've traveled. I've been studied in an ID institute which is in India. One of the best college I worked in system design project, Product design, UI UX design. I have developed a perspective how we can really balance aesthetic over functionality. I'm going to be telling you 10 strategies how you can exactly do it. If you are in that zone of really what you call wanted to really get this clarity. How do I balance this? Because a lot of times in a project you'll be pulled by functionality, sometimes it will be aesthetics. This podcast is going to address you how you can draw that line. Take a lot of notes. Let's jump into this topic. So what are the 10 strategies how you can really draw the line? The very first strategy is user centric design. Every time you need to prioritize your needs over the preference of the user when it comes to wants and needs. If you're not able to clearly draw the line, what happens is you really fight yourself inside and then to other others of your teammates. Because many times you will be pressed by a lot of functionality reasons and aesthetic preference reasons based on the client nature based on the what you call the boss whom you have. That shouldn't be the case and that shouldn't be the variable which you have to take care. Needs and wants of the user needs to be prioritized because creating designs that are not only functional but also visually appealing is very important. This is the first strategy. Second important strategy is nature inspired design. Let me tell you guys, take cues from nature design principles. Nature seamlessly integrates form and functionality. You see any good flower, very good, looking beautiful. It also has a functionality of able to reproduce much effectively because they attract their pollens, they attract the honey bees. They make the reproduction very seamlessly good so that it builds across the forest and that particular ecosystem strives. So nature always has that inbuilt ability to have the functionality as well as form aesthetics. So observe that and understand the patterns which can guide users. Have you seen nature? Have you seen honey bees going into the colorful and most fragrant flower and they take the honey from there. And you know what? Because of that the Pollen get attached to the honeybee and then they go in to make thing with the other flower to take another nectar. Automatically the pollen falls inside and cross pollination happens and the entire forest grows. Plants are really smart. It's smarter than the honey bees. Because by mistake, by design, I would say injects by design. It makes the honeybee take the pollen and cross pollinate it. You know what, if honeybees doesn't live, we will not be even sustaining this universe. Einstein told that entire forest will be extinct and we would be dying. The ecosystem of the food balance lies because of honeybees and because of the simple natural principle. If you are in confusion always, please look at the nature to make a harmonious design. The third important thing is empathy. See guys, put yourself in the user shoes. Consider a very emotional psychological aspect of design. You know what, many times it resonates the emotional aspect of the user when it comes to taking functionality or usability. So you need to understand that whether it's a safety critical component, whether it's what you call it aesthetically just a fashion component, you need to be very careful about it. The fourth important strategy is, I would say it's the best strategy. Benchmarking. Study the successful product designs and services in the same domain. Have an analyzation and comparison for both aesthetics and functionality. And having listed across your team, have a variety of people vote and take the rationale out of it. You know what? This can serve as a foundation for your design. People make lot of mistakes by taking their own perception and judgment. Okay, this is the fourth important thing. The fifth important thing is collaboration and consultation. Engage with a diverse group of designers. Experts seek lot of feedback. In fact, it's continuation to the fourth point. You will gain lot of different perspectives which is not considered before. Collaboration can lead to a great creative, well rounded, effective designs can come out of it. This is a very important step. Sixth is iterate the process. Because if you really wanted to harmonize your functionality with your product, iterate test, iterate test. You know what? Building prototypes early and often allows you to test both aesthetics and functionality for your design. Many times I'll tell you a real case study. Management will come and tell you, hey, this is not aesthetically good. Make it even more look good. Nobody gives you exactly what is a reason why it is not looking good or what needs to be improved. Unless until the person who is reviewing this is not from a design background, you won't be able to substantiate it. Anybody who is preparing biryani, let us Say people can come and say, hey, it is not good this, that. But only some people can exactly find out and point out. Hey, the oil is too much. Hey, spice is little less. Hey, the salt is little high. Hey, the meat has not cooked properly, the rice has not cooked properly. So you know what? To understand that, you will get clarity of that. You need to ask people for that. You need to observe that. That's how you will be able to iterate and impact implement that feedback and make it refined concept. You know what? This is a very key element to balance your successful result. This is a very important step iterating the prototype. Seventh is simplicity and clarity. If you wanted to really make a decision when it comes to functionality or aesthetic, always choose simplicity. Make sure user should understand simply and take an action. That's it. Whatever is complementing that, do the aesthetics accordingly, do the functionality accordingly. You need to come from this side. You should not draw the. You should not draw the line for battling between aesthetic or functionality. Battle between simplicity and complexity for the user to take design user to take decision to interact and make the what you call process successful. You know, clear and a straightforward design often have a timeless aesthetic appeal. They are more likely to function effectively. Have you seen the very good example? What I can give you is ipod touch. Have you seen ipod which is 2001? It was released by Apple and Steve Jobs was very deliberate on asking the designers to really put one button. It should be a scroll wheel. Industry has really got rippled because of that interaction. And a lot of people were really surprised. You know what? Click wheel was the first concept which was introduced then. And when you move your fingers, when you move your thumb across that circle, you'll feel the tracks changing. That is like a very smooth, magical experience. People really got immersed into it. It's not because of the interaction, it's because of the way in which you feel that interaction. It's so simple. Nobody needs to have a user manual to understand that. So this is called simplicity. Guys. You know what? Aesthetics is already inbuilt in it, right? So this is how really designs become timeless, right? So the eighth important thing is material selection. Consider the material used in your design. Material can greatly influence aesthetics, guys. See, when it comes to physical product design, glass material has a very rich feel sometimes. You know what? Plastic has a very different feel. Sheet metal has a very robust feel. Sometimes casting and hard solid iron has a different feel. So use your materials very carefully and materials really talk to people. You know, it gives an emotion, it gives a sense of feeling. So that people, when they touch it, they feel a different emotion. That's what nine different type of emotions, nine rasa nava rasas they call. If you're able to evoke that rasa for that instance, for that audience, for that scenario, for that product, definitely people will able to resonate with you. If you are designing some product for a restaurant where mostly couples come when the cosy light is there, and then they tend to see this particular material, and then they touch this cup and bring the coffee. So you need to consider this particular context and design the material for it. If you keep glass, if you keep bamboo, if you keep anything, that's okay, totally fine. So understand that and user will be able to synchronize with the emotion. Whatever you are designing. As a designer, material selection is very crucial element. The ninth important element is cultural sensitivity. Understand the cultural, guys. Because different cultures have varied aesthetic preferences. Let me tell you. In 1910, the Bauhaus movement started where the minimalism concept was really emphasized. 20s, 1930s, 40s, it was completely forgotten. And after 60s and 70s, the globalization happened. You know what? The Swedish culture, the Bauhaus minimalism has really started emerging again. And you know what? Designers like Dieter Rhymes and Don Norman, they were prominent in those times and they were really communicating that simplicity is the less is more. That's what Dieter Rams used to call that, the minimal you keep, the better it is. Leonardo da Vinci says simply, simplicity is the actual sophistication. So the design that respects that. You know what, when you align them with the culture, and you know what, this will make lot of sense for your users to resonate with that culture. Okay, Culture might be changing for country like India. Maybe minimalism is not that very relevant at those times. Now we are adopting, we are adopting interiors and minimalism, we are adopting buildings, we are adopting furnitures. Everything to be in minimalism nowadays. But it was not there 1980s and 90s. So you need to understand that cultural context in what trend we are riding. You need to make sure that. And I'll tell you the flip side of it, you can even create a new trend. But you need to very sensitively study your user, your context. And then you can aspire them to really go and experience that trend. Let me tell you guys, people will be more curious to check that out. Many times it works. Being a designer, you can add this flavor and touch for your design. The last important parameter is environmental sustainability. Integrate the sustainability into your design, guys. You know what? Aesthetic choices that also consider environmental impact contributes more responsible functional Design. Many times people really battle it out. Let me tell you, it doesn't work that way. Always have environmental factor in your designs. Then functionality, aesthetic, both will be taken care. So these are all the 10 strategies how one can harmonize the aesthetic functionality. Let me repeat you guys, user centric design is the first thing. Second is nature inspired design. Third is empathy in design. Fourth is benchmarking that quality. Fifth is collaborating and consultation. Sixth is iterating your prototypes again. Seventh is simplicity and clarity. Eighth is material selection. Ninth is cultural sensitivity. And tenth is environmental sustainability. If you are able to do this guys, nobody is able to touch your design and it will become a timeless, perfect design for you. Whether you design digital products, physical product doesn't matter. Okay, so I hope this podcast would have given you clarity and I'm giving you some materials. Also you can read a thing called Psychology of design. It's a beautiful material exploring how design choices impact user behavior. You can understand the psychology behind it and you can read future trends in design. You can discuss about the emerging trends, the augmented reality experience, how we operate in mobile, how the AI is complementing this using image sensing technology, how the what you call the functionality is even more better for people who wanted to really get faster results or work faster in their design systems. Trend is really changing in a lot more way. You need to understand that and ethics. See guys, you need to have an ethical consideration for your choices. Let me tell you, if you have that ethics and value set system as a designer, you will definitely make a very functional, beautiful, responsible product. Because all your design, what you make is a reflection of your personality and your value. Let me tell you, this is a very deep topic, but I'm just covering you a little short. Whatever concepts you make or design you make that impacts, I mean that is coming from your own personality and your own value and your own ethical system. Work on that ethical system and values. Automatically your design will be functional, beautiful. You will become a great, excellent designer. And you know what? Automatically you will have the inclusive design coming in and you will have the technology taking into you and you will put everything mixer and you will make an excellent product which can cater for a diverse audience both aesthetically and functionality. Okay, thank you so much guys for listening to this podcast. I hope that definitely this would have given you a great value in understanding this particular pain point which is pressing most of the designers. Thank you so much. Give me best trading if you find it useful in Apple and Spotify. If you need my mentorship support in getting this clarity for implementing in your real time projects, definitely you need a mentor support to do it. You can do it on your own, but let me tell you, it takes a lot of time to be very honest. Hey, ajagdish for people to join your mentorship program. You're telling us. Yeah, you can definitely think it in that way. But I have to be really genuine because I've studied in design institutes, I've studied in online. I've studied with a mentor also. I know the real difference, what makes you get faster results, particularly if you're not having a design education. If you start with a mentor, a personal mentor who can really assist you. Not in a mentorship program where you just submerged and you don't have an interaction with the mentor itself. That's not the real thing. You know what the course completion rate for udemy coursera is just 5 percentage in my courses. You won't believe the course completion rate is 67% high for certain courses. On average, I maintain 42 percentage course completion rate. It's because of the accountability and the mentoring support what I give. It's not only the courses. It's about the personalized support which students really need. 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