ARTICLE SUMMARY: When it comes to design we design with a purpose, either to solve a problem or sell a product or service. In the process we strive to create something  that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye in an attempt to hold the attention of the visitors to our websites.

Michael Buckley‘s article “CONTEMPORARY DESIGN HAS LOST ITS SOUL” looks at design from the first website launched in 1991 up until present day and how much design has changed and why. Some of the changes in the aesthetics are attributed to

  • Influences from Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Google on the design community
  • Analytics and the study of human behavior

Comparing the cars of the 50s and the 60s to the cars of today, Michael believes when it comes to design that as technology improves it diminishes the creative process and the uniqueness of the websites from back in the day is lost.

The upshot of Michael‘s article is “The requirement to make designs efficient is obvious. If we ignore research and evidence that make a structure, product, or composition more effective, it would be detrimental to the users, businesses, and the world. This notion is what separates the fields of objective design and subjective art. And while we tend to believe these two domains should be separate, the reality is that art produces beauty and character, which add immeasurable value to the things we interact with — something quantitative methods lack in implementation.’

This is a great article, especially for beginning designers, let us know what you think in the comments.