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Ask DN: Need Controversial Design topics!!

7 years ago from , Senior Designer at Markit Digital

Hey everyone. I'm trying to come up with an interesting discussion topic for our design team to talk about for about an hour. In the past, we've used some controversial articles by Eli Schiff and others to prompt us to think about design, but I haven't seen anything particularly contentious recently.

So, what are some topics that a group of web, UI/UX and App designers could learn about by discussing?

Some current ideas: Why do Craigslist and Reddit have so many users even though their design is bad? What is different about designing for the web vs. designing software platforms?

4 comments

  • Maurice CherryMaurice Cherry, 7 years ago

    Diversity in the design community.

    (Chop that up whichever way you like. Race, gender, geography, sexual orientation, etc.)

    0 points
  • Clark WimberlyClark Wimberly, 7 years ago

    the hamburger icon. go!

    0 points
  • Michael B., 7 years ago

    I was going to suggest discussing whether a brand's identity has to be liked to be successful. You see it all the time, a well known company rebrands and everyone has their opinions on the new look. If the majority dislikes the change, does this mean the rebrand was a failure? Uber recently had a facelift, and there was some very strong negative opinions regarding the new look. Was the rebrand actually a failure? Or perhaps a victim of an information cascade that started with an uninformed designer?

    Additionally, I think you should rephrase the Craigslist/ Reddit question. You're making the assertion that both sites have bad designs. The sites are both usable and achieving their intended goal. Reddit for example, does a great job of using a variety of dynamics that they can attribute to their success. Fresh daily content (Igniting FOMO), a voting system, points and badges etc. These elements of the design, in my opinion, are great and have enabled growth/ sustainability for the site. Sure it isn't aesthetically pleasing and perhaps you could argue that, but I think to call it "bad design" is foolish.

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  • Eduardo EspinozaEduardo Espinoza, 7 years ago

    Hmmm...

    Is Papyrus and Comic Sans really a sin to use if it serves it's purpose for the design job?

    0 points