What are ‘Principles of Xtrordinary Design’ and how might they help us?
Similar to the “Ten Commandments” ; a set of guiding rules or xtrordinary design principles, by which design is created and executed.
From early greek architecture to modern day design; designers, artists and design movements have established their own set of guiding xtrordinary principles in their creative endeavours, to inform and underpin everything they do and make.
Early Greece established mathematical design principles. Rules of space, scale, geometry and decoration, which linked man directly to the gods and helped them create buildings like the Pantheon.
The guiding principles of Shaker design are Simplicity, Honesty and Utility, and the philosophy being
‘Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful’.
Shaker Design Philosophy
This seems to hold true today and inspires much of our modern lives.
Other interesting examples like the “Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organisation” by Max Wertheimer, establish the psychology of beauty and visual function. The theory being that the human brain will always subconciously simplify and organise complex images consisting of many elements and arrange them into a cohesive whole. Much like the arrow in the Fedex logo, the bear hidden in the Toblerone Triangle and the WWF logo, made of floating black marks with no linking outlines, yet clearly creates a panda shape.
Many great designers past and present have established their own principles of good design to aid their creative endeavours. Our own favourites include Braun’s Chief Design Officer Dieter Rams “10 Principles of Good Design”, Ron Arad’s “Rules for Innovative Thinking”, IDEO’s “Seven Secrets for Better Brainstorming” and finally Tom Sachs own set of studio rules and principles named “Ten Bullets”.
Our Principles of Xtrordinary Design
Borrowed and learnt, these are our own guiding principles. Principles which inform all we do on a daily basis and allow us to imagine, dream and create Xtrordinary experiences for the people, brands and businesses we work with.
- Be Responsibly Harmless
- Be Open, Observant & Thoughtful
- Be Diagnosing & Prescribing
- Be Simple & Honest
- Be Meaningful & Purposeful
- Be Thorough & Decisive
- Be Child-like, NOT Childish
- Be Making, Testing & Failing
- Be Rule Breaking
- Be Paid
Be Responsibly Harmless
Just like the Hippocratic oath, we take care to “do no harm”. This applies to people, businesses, society and the planet. Our role is to be responsible for our actions and how they might effect the wider world.
Be Open, Observant & Thoughtful
Be open and empathetic to new experiences, ways of thinking and understanding others point of view. We understand observing and questioning will help us to gather insight; to better understand the world around us and the problems we engage with. Be thoughtful and understanding that the design problem is not about us, but really about others, and so we will leave our ego at the door.
Be Diagnosing & Prescribing
We’ve borrowed this one from Blair Enns. Too many designers and creative agencies will rush off and create what they think is the answer without truly finding out why? To seek the truth and better understand the world around us. Blair reminds us to fully diagnose the problem before we even think about prescribing a possible solution.
We will endeavour to understand the problem we diagnose, before we look to prescribing possible solutions. Understanding that the more questions asked, the closer we get to the route of the problem. We will be fearless and speak up and ask the stupid questions?
Be Simple & Honest
We will not ‘Guild the Lilly’, instead we will use an honest and simple approach to the things we create. Be truthful to materials and honest about the products we design and create.
Be Meaningful & Purposeful
We’ll endeavour to bring meaning and purpose to all that we do, because we know this is where true value lies.
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be beautiful or believe to be useful’
William Morris, Arts and Crafts Designer
Be Thorough & Decisive
When we see opportunities we act on them or react to them. Making decisions allows us to progress quickly to learn and understand more. If we make the wrong decision, then we will have learnt something new and have a greater understanding, and then correct our mistake. We are thorough throughout our whole process. Each and every task we do, we try to leave ‘no stone unturned’ as we work.
Be Child-like and NOT Childish
Through play we learn and discover. Role-play scenarios, allow us to see things differently from others perspective. Through play we will try and think like a child, loosing our preconceptions of the world and instead use our imagination.
We will not take ourselves too seriously or be precious about our ideas. We will however play with and share our ideas, so that others may build on them. Creating experiences that make us smile.
Be Making, Testing & Failing
Understanding that for ideas to exist we need to make them real. We will test them to better understand how they succeed or fail. We will not be scared to fail as we know that with each failure we will be closer to success. Understanding that nothing is ever truly finished.
Be a Rule Breaker
By learning the rules, we will better understand how to break them. Because we know that breaking the rules will sometimes lead to success.
Be Paid
‘No work for free’. Being paid is important to us, it allows us to grow and invest in creating and doing more for people, businesses and brands around the world.
