Bernskiold Media

The Hidden WOW Factor

While being a very subjective art form, design needs to make an impact. It’s simply why we as designers get hired to do good designs. They need to make an impact on people, preferably without them noticing.

I want to give you all a challenge. For a couple of days, try to be wary about the every-day design that you are exposed to. Newspapers, advertisements, posters and such things that you generally just use or see without thinking too much about them. Look at them from the designers perspective. What have the designer done and how have he or she designed it?

This principle by all good design is that you’ll really never think too much about it but instead you choose that magazine, buy that product, use that software and so forth. It is these hidden WOW factors that can separate two products with otherwise as good content within.

This however is of course no easy task, and just thinking about the fact to “design something as good so that people won’t actively think about it”, makes at least my head a bit dizzy. Instead of thinking about it that way, I propose you set out to do my challenge, be wary of the every-day design out there and dissect what is good about it. Sure, it is very much a theory thing but once you have for a while, you start to get these thoughts inside your head and then start to do this without even thinking. It is when that happens that the design really gets to the good point. Good design, without thinking about it.