Pros and Cons

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Design is making function beautiful


ForAgainst

  
design is not only about beauty
ForAgainst
  • good design can make a product fun
  • design can make a product user-friendly
  • design can make a product environmentally-friendly
  • good design can make a product cheaper 
     

  
good design should balance function and beauty
ForAgainst
     

  
the very design of an object should signify what it is
ForAgainst
     

  
the function of some objects is deliberately hidden as a design feature
ForAgainst
  • e.g. phones in the shape of cartoon characters, pets or cars 
     

  
beauty should not reduce functionality
ForAgainst
     
  • users will trade off functionality for beauty to maximise pleasure 

  
beauty is more important than function
ForAgainst

  
form should follow function
ForAgainst
  • beauty assumes a form 
     

  
the very function of some objects is to evoke a purely aesthetic response, a response to its beauty
ForAgainst
  • eg. painting is "the silence of thought and the music of sight." 
     

  
people buy products based on their emotional response to the product's beauty. Function is secondary.
ForAgainst
     

  
there is nothing intrinsically beautiful about something that is designed for a purpose and does not function
ForAgainst
     

  
if a beautiful thing stops functioning it may still be beautiful
ForAgainst
  • to be beautiful is a function in itself