The Why’s Have It

Few things get me pumped like being in the orbit of enthusiastic folks. Passionate people. Design students learning the craft and falling more in love with it every day; new business owners making that leap from bottom-of-the-food-chain to Bossman. Can’t beat it. There is no substitute for unbridled enthusiasm, but that stuff can quickly turn into poison when it causes folks to dive headfirst into Making without a firm grasp on Understanding. And it doesn’t matter if you are baking a cake or making a website, before you start worrying about How, you have to know Why.

When I give a talk, the kids seldom ask Why. I hear How all the time, which in and of itself isn’t bad. It’s important to know proper technique with any trade, doesn’t matter if it’s chopping onions or wireframing a website. But before you know the best practice for applying that drop shadow, you need to know Why it’s there in the first place. The more you know Why, the closer you come to executing your vision. When you know Why a certain font is perfect for creating a somber tone, the next time you’re flipping through the pages of your Font Book in need of some doom and gloom, you’ll know precisely what terminals and counters you are looking for.

So much of what we do as designers is centered on our ability to make people feel something and connect with our designs. It’s important to develop a keen understanding of why some elements trigger certain emotions (and why some do not.) Knowing this will remove the guesswork when you set out to build your mechanism, powered by your vision and enthusiasm – crafted for an idyllic user experience. No unnecessary parts. No ill fitting fonts or colors. Simplicity. Precision. Success. And it all started with asking the right question.