The better question: Innovation vs. Refinement

itsmorereal:

(This article was also posted on The Tech Block.)

Schools of design thought move back and forth like pendulums. Handmade vs. Mass-produced. Local vs. Global. Minimal vs. Expressive. Tradition vs. Future. Every generation believes we have figured out what the previous generation didn’t, only to later realize that even older generations were doing it that way long before us.

Innovation vs. Refinement. Innovation being loosely defined as new products or features. Refinement being loosely defined as improvements to those products and features. These feel like new terms, but years ago they may have been known as Revolution vs. Evolution. Which is more important?

Right now, the pendulum has swung heavily in favor of innovation, to the point where I believe we are placing too much emphasis on it. I know that sounds like sacrilege coming from an industrial designer, whose very profession seems to be founded on the idea that everything should be innovative, but hear me out.

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    Schools of design thought move back and forth like pendulums. Handmade vs. Mass-produced. Local vs. Global. Minimal vs....
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