There is a common misconception as to the purpose of design (and to that end, a good product or brand). We are supposed to listen to the people’s needs. Right? That’s what market research — whether it be an elaborate focus group or just getting all your buddies’ opinions — is all about. Getting enlightened by consumer preferences and desires. The real world.
The thing is, I look at the world around me and these “needs” are already getting fulfilled. We’re all putting along just fine.
A good brand doesn’t “give people what they want”; a designer’s job isn’t to find out what makes the customer happy and thus continue doing it. Our job as producers is to look into society and culture in order to design something that changes existing conditions into improved ones. What exactly these conditions may be and why they need to be improved is up to the designer to figure out — and proves whether he’s worth his salt. As a designer, and for the sake of my client, I’d sure as heck hope I have the ability, talent, and insight to do so.
Otherwise I’d be doing them a terrible disservice. As I stated in a previous post, I find it quite sad that we’ve become so bottom-up as a society. Where “an anonymous Twitter comment might be seen to pack more resonance and useful content than an article that reflects a lifetime of experience, experts are not created from the top down but from the bottom up.” (From Christopher Kimball in a New York Times Op-Ed).
Listening to a bunch of random peoples’ tastes is not good research. I do not want my favorite musician to play the the notes that I “need” — I like them because they play their music. (Remember how Metallica essentially focus-grouped themselves into oblivion by giving the “fans” what they wanted with St. Anger and beyond?) In the same way, a good brand tells their story. And we will relate to it in some way or another, because in the particular lies the universal.
It’s not easy. Sometimes the things I’ve now come to appreciate I started out hating. But more often than not, the things that are initially difficult to grasp end up being the most fulfilling.
If all innovators just started listening to people’s “real world needs”, we’d be left with a world of Applebee’s and Toyota Corollas. That world doesn’t seem very fun to me. (Or, never put me in a focus group if you want your product to be comfortable, safe, and successful). I like companies that believe in their product, even if it’s something a little out there. It inspires me as a designer and makes for a brand that’s actually interesting.
- Scott Fuller