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The UX fallacy that everything needs to be usable to be valuable
To bend reality, you got to know reality. And it’s not all design.
A few days ago, I read this tweet (and hundreds of LinkedIn posts) and found myself wondering about whether most designers understand the value of design. And as Steve Jobs once said, “Design isn’t the way something looks, it’s the way it works.” If by any chance, you understand this you’d know what’s coming next.
For most designers, when something isn’t working, it’s tempting to jump into a usability study or doing massive user testing to find out usability flaws. But sometimes, it’s easy to forget that design isn’t always about how usable it should be. It first needs to solve a problem, provide value. And before that, you need to understand the macro landscape.
Google’s decision to redesign its iconic Suite logos was a conscious change. It wasn’t by chance and certainly, it wasn’t meant to lean towards usability.
I’ll sum up in 3 points why Google’s Logo Redesign is all good.
Value ≠ UX, Value > UX
Okay, let’s be honest — after Google redesigned their logos, who stopped using their service? Frankly, not me/anyone I know. In fact, the people I work with barely talked about the changes.
To achieve great design is as important first to understand the value of the product that it’s intended to serve.
Gmail still gives me timely email, Calendar still reminds me of the appointments I have, Drive still stores my files, and more.
The value of the product isn’t the UI/UX, it’s simply… the value it delivers. Google’s product works for us and is far more superior to other alternatives. A…
