Within design there are four divisions that I believe any design may fall under, these four represent the moving room for any type of design, whether digital designs such as UI Design and Web Design or Physical designs such as Industrial Products.

Put plainly the 4 divisions are these; High Aesthetic low Functionality, High Aesthetic high Functionality, Low Aesthetic low Functionality, Low Aesthetic high Functionality. Of the 4 mentioned one is the best to be in, one is a strong neutral position, and two are bad positions.

Before I begin discussing about the 4, let me define my terms.

Aesthetics: this is in the simplest way the look of an item, but in a deeper sense it is the feeling of it, it’s the narrative that the object has been given or has become associated with.

Function: is simply the goal and purpose for which a thing was made, if it accomplishes the goal then it is highly functional and if it does not then it has a low functionality.

4th: LA-LF - Low Aesthetic Low Function

This division in design is the worst position for any product, whether digital or physical. I’m talking about products that don’t serve the purpose they’re supposed to and don’t even look good enough to be something you could use as a decoration in your home or office space.

The question you might be thinking now is, “what do I do to avoid this?” well it’s fairly simple actually. All you need to do is ask yourself at the start of the process, “what problem do I aim to solve with this product or project?” that way even if the end product look terrible in the end it still gets the job done.

Once you have that part sorted out walk in that line of reasoning. Once it’s been confirmed that what your building has solved the problem/gets the job done, then you start making it look good.

“Designing for aesthetics before function, is similar to designing an engine block and then the car.”

3rd: HA-LF - High Aesthetic Low Function

This division in design is the second worst position. Here the product itself looks very nice, it looks cool, looks fun etc..

However it is only when a user begins to interact with the product that it become obvious that product doesn’t work. The closest example of this I can think up is a cup with cat ears. The cat ears are placed in such a way that if you held the cup by the handle the ears would poke you. So from a looks perspective it looked great, but for drinking anything from it, it would be inconvenient.

How then do you avoid this? Simple, design for Function first and then work out how to make it aesthetic. If the added aesthetic reduces usability/functionality change or remove it.

2nd: LA-HF - Low Aesthetic High Function

This division in design is the second best position. In this instance the product itself is not very visually appealing, it may even be something people don’t look at twice in a store. However when it comes to getting the job done, it’s a 10.

In my opinion there are many things we interact with daily that have a bit of a low to medium aesthetic. in the case of these products aesthetics isn’t truly necessary, but is a great plus to have.

Some examples of items in this division are:

• Toothbrushes

• Light Switches

• Door handles

“I don’t believe a digital product can have a low aesthetic and maintain a high level of usability.”

Personally I think the items that can get into this division quite easily and it would be fine are products that people interact with almost without thinking about it. I don’t believe a digital product can have a low aesthetic and maintain a high level of usability.

1st: HA-HF - High Aesthetic High Function

This is the best place to be when it come to design. In this case the product not only works, but also looks nice while doing it.