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Design: beauty and functionality need to go together...

More often than not, it seems to me that people think about design as a matter of beauty or of functionality. I say that it's about both, good design should be as much about to achieve beauty as much as functionality.

It's quite possible to create software, from operating systems to applications, that is as functional as it's beautiful. You need to take into account that both are quite elusive, since what both mean is up to the user to define beauty and functionality. With some users you might hit one, but miss the other.

That's why is really hard to design software that it's universally acclaimed to have high marks on both areas. There will be some people that won't like one thing or another. Because of this is important to keep in mind the intended use for the software you're making.

What the software will be used for, will define  how it will look depending on what it's asked from it. Some will argue that the way the software is presented to the user is determined on what functions it has to perform to give the results it has to give. The way any OS, or app, looks is part of the functionality.

This is why I believe that it's shortsighted to try separate the way software looks from it's functionality, since the way it looks will play a mayor part on how users interact with it. This is way it's important to make any software as easy to use, and make it so that people enjoys using it. Implementing an user interface that gives it's user the functionality needed to perform the task at hand while making it so that it's one that they enjoy to use, is a tall order to achieve. Then again, fulfilling it is something that needs to be done to have the best software possible.

Good design should always consider to give users the best interface possible from the start, since users are the ones that are going to have to work the tools to make things happen. While you don't have to please everyone, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to make it so that people can actually enjoy using your app most of the time.

Remember, the users you have to have in mind are the ones who actually are going to use your software. Focus on giving your core users of your software the experience they want, any other user outside your target group is a bonus. Creating software this way can save you a lot of trouble, since you'll actually be able to focus on feedback from the users that actually use your software to get their work done, and not the ones that don't really matter.

Bake the best user interface for their needs into your software from the start, so that any changes that need to be made later on are not that important. Keep in mind that ease of use is a key functionality, even if the user doesn't say it outright. Help your user enjoy using your software, so that they come back to you time and time again.

Good design makes how the software looks a key functionality, even if it doesn't advertise it like one.

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