I don't usually like to jump into these frays, but two things about this are near to my heart. 1) Successful business as a goal should be a objective of good design; and 2) I really think these "either/or" discussions are ridiculous.
To the first point, read Dreyfuss' Designing for People. A key component of his design philosophy was that it must fit hand-in-glove with the design method and deliverable. Any designer not learning the business model, perhaps influencing it, then weaving it through the design, all the while considering it and giving feedback on it, is not doing his or her job. That should always be at least offered, even if the client rejects the input. Do we really know that no designer suggested anything influencing the Amazon business model? Secondly, what is the point of arguing which is part of the other? They both just *are*. They are intertwined, they affect each other. They affect customers almost simultaneously, and often the design first. But if they are not in sync, if they do not make sense together, if they do not support each other, then there will be the sorts of problems we are all familiar with. Do we know that Jeff Bezos didn't have a nice chat with a designer one day and come away with new ideas about making money? Yes, business wizards can be better at a business model and design wizards can be better at design. But a designer without business sense comes close to the "artiste" or "pixel pusher" description. Or, as they were called at an old company I worked for, specretaries. Sure, there will be design opportunities for a business model that is already fantastic and designed by non-UX people. But that is only an opportunity for the designer to learn a business lesson and to show their expertise at turning a business model into an effective design. Conversely, I believe there are products and services that are created and well-designed that are business model opportunities. Phillip http://www.design-outloud.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=42976 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
