I decided to mix things up a little with this review. Generally I review books with a strong thesis. But on this occasion I will look at a couple of books that are more biographic and reflective. Not being a professional designer I find I can only approach the subject of design from an inspirational viewpoint. I'm intrigued by good design, how it was made and why it works. I'm also often engaged by the careers of successful designers. I feel both books are strong on inspirational and have biographical aspects.

Why review both books together?

There are some interesting overlaps but also intriguing differences.

I would characterise Things I have learned in my life so far as a thin book and Pretty Much Everything as a thick book. That is not to say that Sagmeister’s text is in any way light. It’s more that he has deliberately chosen a concise format. Things I have learned consists of 15 individual pamphlets, each pamphlet containing at least one aphorism. The aphorisms are presented as photo montages of public installations Sagmeister made with collaborators. There is also some text included which describes the creation of the installation and reflects on the aphorisms’ meanings. The scale of some are particularly impressive. Draplin's text on the other hand is more directly autobiographic with extensive examples of his own designs and projects.

Things I learned in my life so far

It’s tricky to discuss Sagmeister’s book in detail as, for me, one of its most enjoyable aspects is paging through the pamphlets and discovering each aphorism and accompanying installation. I will try not to spoil the surprise too much but a good example of the aphorism’s character is the following which was the first one published:

"Everything I do always comes back to me"

The message itself is quite simple, perhaps in a certain sense obvious, but it’s the context of the message that makes it meaningful. There is something very pleasing in skimming through the visual representation of the aphorisms, dwelling on what they mean and then reading Sagmeister’s own comments.

Draplin Design Co: Pretty much everything

Draplin’s book is largely an autobiography that focuses on his career highlights. It also presents a substantial amount of his designs and projects.

Unlike Things I have learned, everything presented here was for the most part created by Draplin himself and the text mainly focuses on how he made a successful career in graphic design.

Hence why I say Pretty much everything is a thick book. I can’t with certainty say it would be useful for professional designers (not being one I can’t judge that). But if you find Draplin’s designs already intriguing this is a great source for more detail.

I also found his account of his career compelling. Draplin seems to have found a great balance between doing something creative and paying the bills. (I wonder if this blog might pay the bills one day…)

Comparison

While there are some autobriogpahic elements to Things I have learned and I do believe there is a certain underlying sensibility connecting the aphorisms and their installations, I find the arresting quality of the visuals, and the aphoristic form of the text, serve to distance the text from the author. They feel like broad statements on life and addressed to anyone.

Draplin's account feels much more personal. This is his story and he wants to share it with us.
Personally I would recommend both books. If you must pick one, think about what you are looking for. If you want a detail insight on how to make a career in graphic design or want to learn more about Draplin’s style, go for Pretty much everything. But if you’re looking for some broader inspiration pick up Things I have learned so far.
But in the end both are great.

Further Media

An interview with Stefan Sagmeister on Tobias van Schneider's Nice to meet you podcast

Presentation by Aaron James Draplin at Google

Review: Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far by Stefan Sagmeister and Draplin Design Co: Pretty Much Everything by Aaron James Draplink by William Samuel McDonald is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"Good design solves problems. Good experience design isn't about good screens, it's about good experiences." (Golden Krishna)

Summary

There are two main discussion points in this book. First is an account of a screen obsessed culture, second is a discussion on alternatives and speculations on what non-screen-based technical solutions might look like. Krishna is particularly concerned by how a concentration of screen based solutions limits our thinking. This focus on the screen has led to a culture where every company, startup or entrepreneur feels an app is necessary for their service, even when this is inappropriate and creates poor user experience. More worryingly, Krishna speculates that using advertising as the primary revenue source incentivizes firms to create poor screen-based technical solutions because this will lead consumers to spend more time on the app.

In general, the alternative solutions Krishna proposes emphasise speed, simplicity and seamlessness. They are what Krishna describes as “typical processes”, which in effect means they have a physical component and offer a neat solution to common problems. A good example of what he’s getting at is the Nest smart thermostat, which can learn and adjust itself based on the routines of the occupants of the home.

A screen culture

Krishna repeatedly emphasizes that we live in a screen orientated culture. He bases this perception on several observations. Today it seems that every business from car manufactures to grocery stores to coffee shops feel compelled to make an app. More subtly though, Krishna observes a change in the language in how our culture discusses interfaces. In the first chapter he comments that our general understanding of the word interface has come to be associated with screen-based interactions with computer systems. Indeed, the job descriptions many firms put out for UX and UI designers are interchangeable. In fact, as Krishna notes, these are two distinct roles; one focuses on interaction between consumers and systems via screen-based behaviours and the other is much broader, encompassing the entire experience of using the system. The fact these jobs are now mostly treated as the same indicates how deeply our interactions with technology are premised on manipulation of a screen.

The reason that Krishna finds this situation so objectionable is that he believes it leads to suboptimal technical solutions. Undeniably there are situations in which screen based interfaces are best, but in limiting our thinking to the screen we are missing out. The classic example he cites of such sloppy thinking is the excruciating experience of unlocking a car with an app. Krishna goes through the process of doing this step by step, making it clear that this “solution” only adds complexity. Far better, is a non-screen based technology such as integrating a simple proximity sensor into the car keys that can automatically unlock the car when the owner is nearby.

However, Krishna not only suggest this is the result of lazy thinking or a herd, in some cases something more insidious could be going on. For better or worse many internet-based businesses use advertising to make money. As a result, the more time customers spend on their site the better for them. This means that firms have an incentive to make less effective interfaces so customers spend longer on their sites. Would Google be more effective without displaying prominent links? Would Facebook or Twitter work better without ads? These are the questions Krishna raises and most consumers would agree that indeed these services would be better without advertising.

Incentives

This topic of balancing business and consumer incentives is an important one. It is obvious that businesses need consumers to survive, this is the position that Krishna takes. But something that is not commented on so much, is that consumers need businesses to provide them with services. Hence why, so long as the service for the most part works, firms can push customers towards suboptimal interfaces that serve their purposes. However perhaps a more balanced approach is possible, where some compromise is made on the experience but the consumer could benefit elsewhere.

Recently I had my own “The Best Interface is no Interface Experience”. I use a store brand card here in Germany to collect points on purchases I make, which I can then be used to buy items offered by their partners (kitchenware for instance). The card has a barcode on the reverse and the most basic way to collect points is to either hand your card to the cashier after he’s done scanning your groceries or scanning it yourself on a barcode reader attached to the till. Over the last couple of years, the firm behind these cards has been pushing its customers to use an app. With the app you can activate various coupons and also activate a barcode for scanning.

I had forgotten my card one day so decided to try out the app. Of course, by the time I activated the app the cashier had scanned all my items and was ready for me to pay. At this point he was unwilling to let me scan the barcode (in Germany cashiers are typically very efficient but not always so friendly). This would seem to be a typical example of Krishna’s argument; with the card everything can be done much more seamlessly than the app.

However, I do think there is a more complicated point here. First, the question is why is the firm pushing customers to use the app rather than the card that works fine. I think partly this is due to the rise of online shopping, the firm wants its customers to experiment with using the card other ways than just scanning it at the end of a shop. Another reason is that I noticed the firm had started to offer a payment service through the app. With the payment service, you can add your bank details to your account and then the app can generate a QR code for payment.

Not a bad idea. This could potentially have the advantage of something like the paywave technology in modern credit cards, it also has the advantage that you can collect points and finally since it’s linked to your bank account the money goes directly out of your account (in Germany credit cards are often frowned upon so I imagine paywave is not as successful as in other countries).

However, there is still the interface issue. I’ve not used the payment method myself, however I was in line when a young fellow in front of me tried to use it. He certainly had a much friendlier cashier than I did, they spent a good 5 minutes trying to get either the self-scanner or the cashiers scanner to recognize the code. Having used paywave myself (I am not skeptical about credit cards) I can say that this experience was much worse. However despite the interface issues I do think this is potentially a very good service.

In the end I think this firm is really trying to diversify their service and offering a payment scheme is potentially quite lucrative. On the other side consumers have the possibility of paying for small transaction in a neat way without having to use a credit card. Sure maybe the user experience is not great but compromise on the experience might be worth it.