Sage with Design

If you crack open a new bottle of Coca Cola and it doesn’t make the “tsst” sound, you know it’s flat before drinking it. Some products can be defined by the sound they make. I am not including products with speakers that produce music or digital feedback, but instead products like a vacuum. Not the motor, but the noise of debris traveling through the hose. It communicates that the vacuum is doing it’s job. Last week I didn’t hear debris while vacuuming and it led me to discovering the hose was detached. That scatter sound is too useful, distinct, and satisfying to not consider it a feature. I would return a new vacuum if those noises were absent because I would assume it was broken. Legos rustling in a box is forever engrained in anyone who has ever searched for a specific block in their Lego box. Other creative toys don’t sound the same. K’nex have a distinct sound that’s lower pitch. Legos sound higher pitch and clickier. Maybe it’s because I played with Legos so much as a kid, but I...

The only time when a door is not a door is when it’s a jar. And when a door is always ajar, your latch needs replaced.

Samsung released a Bespoke brand vacuum that can detect surfaces and soil level. It adjusts suction strength and brush roll height for you. It’s cordless, so these adjustments are good at rationing battery life. And of course, an Ai system is integrated to make these decisions. Another Bespoke project integrates Ai with a refrigerator. Interior fridge sensors scan your food for expiration dates, signs of spoiled food, ingredients for recipes, it learns your food and dietary preferences and it can create grocery lists based on what you typically have in stock. This is the part of Ai that’s most promising for day to day life. Cooking and cleaning is tedious. It may be easy to become lazy and disconnected with having everything taken care of. It’s just as likely we’ll have more time, allowing us to focus on relationships and goals. We still make the decisions that are good and bad for ourselves. The autonomy of Ai only extends so far.

After we understand a shiny new idea, the shine disappears and it becomes knowledge. Our knowledge helps make us unique. Once you know something by heart, it’s hard to not know it. It feels like a part of us. The real trouble is you may assume that everyone else knows this fact, too. If your friend tells you a piece of history, you might attribute it as common knowledge later. Others must have heard of it by now, just like you. But they haven’t. The truth is we don’t know what you know. The only way to share your value is by sharing it.

When you teach someone to use a chef’s knife, you need to demonstrate the proper techniques and to correct their hands repeatedly. Everyone always falls into their old way of using a knife. Learning how to use a knife the right way isn’t the hard part. The hard part is teaching them to stop using the knife the wrong way. It’s hard to stray from what we know. It’s threatening. It feels like you’re going to hurt yourself. Confidence while using a knife is another lesson that should be taught. You can’t have true confidence without experience, but you can pretend to. Perfect posture, steady breathing, and a teacher's assurance go a long way. Gripping the knife too firmly and being anxious can cause the knife to slip and cut you. Of course, using a knife too fast can, too. How you avoid getting cut is by asking for help and by being assertive.

Two people can understand something equally and yet come to differing conclusions. Neither of you are wrong entirely, the directions are just different. Regardless, the important part is for everyone to find a way to move forward.

I’ve heard the concepts confused for each other so here’s a small list: Transparent objects are apparent because you see them clearly. It communicates openness. Translucent objects prevent some light from getting through. An object behind a blurry window is a mystery. Opaque objects are solid like wood. This is good for security, privacy and clean surfaces.

Some of the best brainstorming sessions you can have aren’t at work. Great ideas pop up during a shower or the drive to work. That’s when the mind can actually wander. And why you always carry a sketchbook.

Popular doesn’t mean the best. Kraft American cheese is the most popular cheese in the United States. No cheese enthusiast would call it the best cheese. Other companies thrive on making premium cheeses. The goal doesn’t have to be popularity.

You don’t need the expensive pens. Bic pens are cheap and the flow is good. Sometimes you get a lemon, of course, which is part of the gamble of cheap pens. But it’s still the best.

From the 80s to the early 00s, plastics were commonly translucent on Macintoshes, Tamagotchi’s, sneakers, and most electronics. Transparency meant purity. Nothing to hide, and it stands out better than the other ones. Eventually functionality was favored over transparency and the fad died. We see it now in small electronics for niche markets for differentiation. It could grow more popular among other subsets within the Y2K aesthetic.

The empty space of a kitchen drawer is what makes it useful. Dividers help only so much before making the clutter is worse.

You used to have to point the remote directly at the tv sensor, but most remotes have updated technology. New remotes use Bluetooth to connect with your tv. The old ones used infrared light which travel in a straight line. We don’t have to worry about objects in the way of the sensor any more. You used to have to get up and change the channel at the tv. There were knobs and an antenna. It wasn’t digital. Technology has made it easier than ever to flip through channels, but it’s a hassle now more than ever to find something for everyone to watch.

If a colleague doesn’t like your design, that’s fine. So long as they understand it’s not about what they like, it’s about what people will like. “That’s not for me,” is different than, “Our customers won’t like this.”

It’s the idea that a product is reliable and predicatable. Like retention, but it’s also the relationship you have with a product despite getting upset, angry or disappointed by it. My product management professor tied this in with “commits”. We commit to a product through purchase, by using it often and saying good things about it to people. Phones, clothes, fridges, sinks, tvs, beds, chairs, cars, pens, and so on. Above style or even quality, it has to be easy to use. Convenience is the most reliable way to keep someone coming back.

My water flosser broke after the handle fell. It burst open so I put the spring and plastic pieces back together. But now the floss head won’t snap in place. Luckily it’s under warranty. A small chip on a 1 cm part made it unusable. And now the entire unit is being replaced. This has happened to me with an air purifier before. Don’t try to fix it, take a new one. It’s a better model than my old one so I am happy about that, I guess. Replacing only the handle would have solved the problem. This feels excessive.

It comes with every grill. Some parts of the gate are hotter than others when cooking. But that doesn’t mean that all things must cook on the sweet spot. That just means the user knows what to expect from it. The flip side is you don’t know what to expect from the other spots. Some spots cook slower and some faster. You have to try it to learn how to use it. You can’t grow if you don’t try the not-sweet spots.

Language is relative. Your perspective is influenced by the language you speak. And language is more than words. We use body language more than speaking. Pointing is rude in the US but in some countries it’s no problem. The OK sign is rude in Brazil and it’s an obscene gesture in parts of the Middle East. There are different sign language varieties. Chinese signing is too different than American signing to be understood by those who know it. Each language evolved to fit their culture. Language is an ever evolving system of communication that reflects the cultures of the people who use it. If a designer wants to design for a group, like a niche, they have to learn the language.

Designers don’t know what it feels like to be introduced to their own product. If you develop a horror video game, you won’t know whether the game is scary or not before testing. How could you be scared? You know what’s around every corner. Your relationship is different with it than anyone else. Fresh eyes are part of a good process. Only others know how it feels to turn a corner for the first time.

Doing is at least as important as deciding.

What’s better, TikTok or YouTube videos? Which is more entertaining, a 2 hour movie or four 30 minute episodes? That depends on you, the content and the moment. It’s easy to believe in a world of constant news and change that people only want information fast and now. But a company like Wustof can make a chef’s knife seem better than any kitchen gadget. When we design a product we look at what is most possible and what is most important: What paths can be used to communicate? (How it looks, feels and the impact on other senses.) Will people welcome this into their lives right now? (The problems your product solves and other areas of value.) Is there a path to build trust and object consistency? (People will keep it and continue to use it like we plan.) Whether it’s cutting vegetables for dinner guests or cutting a sandwich for ourselves, there’s no one rule for what people will want. Convenience can be sacrificed for quality or skill but ultimately it...

5500K is daylight. It’s close to the color temperature of noon. A light source has to be so hot in order to achieve its color. How warm or cool a color looks depends on temperature.

“How many designers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?” “Does it have to be a lightbulb?”

I would want to freeze time. Night always comes a little too early.

The top 3 phones today are the S23 Ultra, Pixel 7 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro. Competition is fierce, they are all excellent phones. In terms of specs it comes down to display, performance, camera and battery life. All three phones exceed in these departments. There are other factors like how the Pixel’s camera visor doesn’t allow the phone to lay flat on its back without a phone case. Camera lenses have unique designs, the S23 for example looks like bug eyes. Also, each phone’s edge is beveled differently. The difference between flagship phones is blurring. It’s why foldable phones are getting attention. It may not be practical, but at least it’s a phone you can show off to your friends.

“Live” is what the band actually sounds like. Each concert will sound a little different so each one carries its own special energy. When it’s live, it’s authentic because it’s happening right here, right now. No post. It comes at the cost of sound quality. It’s not as clear or as loud as recording each instrument individually and then mixing them in a studio. Open-air venues come with reverb, so it’s easy for songs to sound muddy or echoey. Instruments are loud so it’s important not to overload the sound system while also not picking up on the audience too much. It takes special equipment to get a high quality sound from live concerts. Bands often try to marry the best experiences of each by dubbing instruments over a live album. Talking Heads caused some controversy with their live albums, Stop Making Sense and Naked, which used studio dubbing. David Byrne addressed it as a way for better control over the sound while capturing the experi...

A color is more noticeable when it has a name. For example: blue. The English word “blue” is the only word available to describe any shade of blue without an adjective. Sky blue, navy blue, royal blue, light blue and so on. But it’s common in other languages to describe shades of blue using different words. The Spanish word “azul” means blue in the same way an English speaker says blue, but Spanish also has “celeste” to describe a light blue. This means native Spanish speakers have a better understanding of shades of blue in the world. This study shows that  Spanish speakers can distinguish between shades of blue better than shades of green. Simply put, if you grew up speaking Spanish, you see blues better than other people. Design is a language because it comes with rules. Designers don’t rely on “blue” to describe a specific blue. We use color codes, names, swatches, and palettes. To make adjustments to a blue, we need to know things like hue, saturation, brightness, tone and val...

A sharper pencil is accurate. The graphite will go exactly where you tell it to go. A dull pencil is wider, uglier, and less prepared to make a mark. If you don’t sharpen your pencil, it’s pointless.

Late to the party with a generic look. When it’s designed for everyone, it’s appealing to no one.

The blank red space on a stop sign is what makes it effective. You can see a stop sign before you can ever read it. You don’t need to complicate it.

Finches don’t care which bird feeder you choose to buy. They don’t care that you invested in one with drain holes, a squirrel lock, galvanized metal, and rot-resistant cedar. Feeders aren’t for birds. Feeders are designed for you to see birds. It’s easy done, but you still see bird mansions and elaborate feeders. Sometimes the important part is simply how the customer feels.