How a balance of intuitive and logical thinking can avoid the conflict between designers and non-designers when they ask for more design options
No one denies the fact that we should not go too much off trend and should be flexible enough to embrace the latest trend in technology & design.
What do we do, when we find something interesting Design over the internet? We immediately click on it read/share/like it and then move on to next interesting topic/design. We keep exploring it until we get to see yet another interesting content/design. It is an intuitive way of thinking that is making us take quick decisions. It is an unconscious process for rapid action, judgment, and decisions. The human brain is lazy, which develops mental shortcuts just to save energy. Intuitive responses are not based on data, facts or active reasoning but based on impulse.
What do we do when we don’t like any design as designers. We get it changed, propose to change or make other options of the same design.
And what do we do when a non-design individual from the different team don’t like the design that the designer has made? This is the post to cover such instances that Designers face on a daily basis and help them to understand the wheel between intuitive and deliberative thoughts. Let’s call this social marketing non-design person ‘Bob’ who is dealing with the Designer almost on a daily basis for the artworks (emailers, banners, decks, booklets etc). First, let’s discuss the pain points (of no understanding) in the below section:
Bob: Can we have more design options pls? I don’t like this design.
Designer: What did you not like?
Bob: I don’t know. But something is missing.
Designer: What specifically is missing. Can you explain?
Bob: Hmm, Image I think. Can we see some more options?
Designer: What kind of image do you think we should take?
Bob: I don’t know. But this I don’t like this one.
Designer: Anything else?
Bob: No, let’s see what image we use.
After a while, when a revised Design is resent. Bob comes back to the Design desk.
Scenario 1:
Bob: No, this is also not good. Can we change?
Designer: What kind of image do you want?
Bob: This blue is too jarring in the image.
Designer: You want me to change the color tone of the image?
Bob: No. Something is not going.
Designer: I am not getting what you are looking for. We have put a visual as per the content is given to us. Please send us some reference images over the email that you are looking. We will put that.
Scenario 2:
Bob: This image is nice. Can we change the color of the copy background?
Designer: No, I think it is fine.
Now, Bob goes to your senior, says something and Designer ultimately changes the color.
Scenario 3:
Visual is fine. Body copy is okay, but the main title changes all of a sudden.
Designer: This new title is not going with the image. We will have to change (Designer sends an email on the same email chain that was assigned initially).
Bob’s boss: No, we are short on time, let’s go with this. Let’s put any generic image closer to the title and go with it.
After a while with the new generic image, Person visits the design bay again, but now for the body copy. By this time the Designer is already pissed with whatever series of events just happened for this particular design. He has already made five iterations to the design.
Bob: Move this below and this up (pointing towards design elements). The designer is blindly doing things now and not objecting at all.
Result: Designer creativity was slit, caused a sulking death and the project is now over.
Scenario 4:
Designer: Please send the agenda/content/copy soon so that we can finish this on time.
Designer receives a mail at the very last minute of the day.
5:30 pm: “Sorry for sending this very late”. We need this urgently by tomorrow (knowing that the day is almost over).
10:30 am: Next day in the morning another email comes asking “By when we can get this. We have to release this early.”
Result: Creativity is butchered again with no time is given to think.
Scenario 5:
Email by Bob: Kindly look at the design what other company is doing. Can we do something like that? Bob sends a link for reference.
Sub-scenario 1
Design, which is referred of other company is no way near to the design that the Designer has made and he amuses at that as it showed the visual abilities of the sender.
Sub-scenario 2
Design, which is referred of other company is good this time. Designer explores it further by visiting the link and finds that this Design is out of those 4–5 preset templates of the referred company and nothing new Design later on that company followed. Companies do follow templates however, some people believe in making mere design options for every artwork just for the heck of it. Designers are most of the times treated as data entry operators.
Brand Recall Value, why is it so important?
When people use your product they build automatic actions. They develop a habit which leads their actions to your product goals. With time and practice, it becomes easier and faster for the users who are seeing your designs to meet your product goals. Users become self-aware by your brand as they become habitual of seeing/viewing it. Hence you achieve higher brand value for your product.
Why are Bob and the Designer thinking differently about the same subject? and how to resolve such issues so that design is not suffered much?
Daniel Kahneman in his book ‘Thinking fast and slow’ described two modes of thinking process — Intuitive & Reflective. He called them System 1 and System 2. “System 1” is fast, instinctive and emotional; “System 2” is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. The book delineates cognitive biases associated with each type of thinking. We will discuss these two modes of thoughts from the book and try to resolve the responses that are based on biased views.
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the reflective/rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift” — Albert Einstein
Intuitive thinking as mentioned before is an unconscious process for rapid action judgment and decisions. Whereas logical thinking is slow, deliberate, focused and is often applied to complex problems. Logical thoughts are slow in making decisions as in most situations our responses are automatic, hence we give an advantage to the intuitive thinking process.
Sometimes Intuitive thinking calls on Logical thinking for support in more detailed and specified process to solve the problem of the moment. Logical thinking is mobilized when a question arises for which the intuitive thinking does not offer an answer.
I took these two modes of thinking as an example to help the designers when they get stuck dealing with nondesign teams or people like Bob. They can be more logical when someone’s intuitiveness create hurdles and ready with their logical responses, as immediate responses (intuitive) are sometimes biased and have little understanding of logic and statistics.
Logical thinking is mobilized to increase the effort when it detects an error about to be made. Just remember a time when you almost blurted out an offensive remark and note how hard you worked to restore control.
Designers should understand the subject well and learn to keep a balance between Intuitive and logical responses. As these responses are going to decide whether you will be making Design changes suggested by Bob or overrule them.
When intuition and logic agree, You are always right — Blaise Pascal
The moment Designers read a title and intro, an image/concept idea bubbles up in their head and they start working on that idea. Whereas sometimes the body copy, if it is read further gives a different picture of the subject altogether. If a Designer is not biased but reasonable after embedding his creative intuitive thoughts — he will be in a much-secured position to defend any biased views of the non-design individual Bob.
Questions being put by Bob may not be wrong as what we learned through the importance of intuitive thinking but it may be biased sometimes, anticipating Bob’s likes and preferences. As long as Designers know all the answers to the questions being put by non-design teams — they are in a safe zone and nothing to sulk about. And the one who fails to provide solutions end up sulking, whether he is Bob or the Designer.
Thank you for giving your time in reading my post. If you find my ideas interesting do follow me on twitter @oraajan or check out my linkedin page.
Views expressed in this article are my personal.
