An Inconvenient Convenience, Too Nice, And The Trap

I'm tired already of all the "Year in Review" content, so this is not that. Instead, a trio of shorter thoughts that have been rolling around that I'd like to clear out for the New Year.

🕳️ The trap.

The easiest design trap to fall into is when someone has an idea, (that you know won’t work or is not appropriate in some way) and you’re told something like, “Just do it, and they’ll see how bad it is.” Friends, this almost never works. The easy answer is to make the designer execute the idea under the guise of doing some kind of due diligence. If we have to do it, we have to do it, but please stop making this argument.

Here’s why this never works – people love their own ideas. It is very difficult to convince them otherwise. It would take a hard conversation about strategy and/or brand. And because you’ve tried very hard to make the idea work as well as is possible, it’s not as bad as it could be, and you’ve basically shown everyone it could work. All they see is their idea – that they are emotionally connected with – in its best form possible. Remember, you can’t change a feeling with a fact. You’ve done such a good job, that everyone else is asking you why you’re being such a little bitch about it. You just know deep down that it doesn't make sense for the strategy, or isn’t as good as it could be. 

🛌 I am incredibly tired of convenience.

Convenience has become such a marketing feature. Of course people want it. I want it. But more often lately convenience is not that convenient. My insurance company has been desperately trying to get me to create an online account. You can make changes. You can access your widgets. It “empowers” you. Those things are true, but why then does it feel like I spend more time doing all those things than I would have otherwise.

In the past they would have sent me my card, and I would have gone on with my life until I needed something different. Convenience has been conflated with engagement metrics. This convenience feels more related to the agent’s productivity than to mine. I’m sure he can agent for more people if I am effectively helping to admin my account under the guise of “giving me the power.” If I have to sign up for one more damn platform or website I will melt into a puddle. 

For me, convenience is having my groceries delivered when my car is in the shop. A text reminder of an appointment. Attaching a pdf in an email. Convenience can be different for different people and situations. But consumers are dying for real convenience, and companies that provide that will win.

😇 Can a design be “too nice”?

Someone brought up a worry that a design might be “too nice” earlier this year, and I can’t stop thinking about it. How can a design be too nice? Certainly there are strategic and brand considerations – a value brand shouldn’t look like a luxury brand. So, there is a point where a design could look too expensive or unattainable for what it needs to convey. You could also argue that work where the overall tone is "too nice" may not break through.

The concern here was that if the project turned out “too nice,” that people either internally or externally would question the amount of money spent. But that was a real head scratcher as a designer. 

Many value brands need to match the idea of savings or thriftiness, but other brands like non-profits may fall into this category. They need to not only spend their money wisely, but also manage any perceptions of how they spend that money. But that should be part of the strategy that's already baked in to the work. Otherwise, let's make it nice.