Sigmund Freud: Ego-less design for better products
One of Freud’s big legacies is to popularize the notion of the ego. Out of context, in 2007, ego has become a BAD thing. But Freud intended to represent the ego as a participant in a person’s ecosystem of checks and balances. There’s three big forces keeping people from going crazy: the ego – the balance mediator, the ID – the uncontrolled energy of what we really want, and the Super-Ego – ones conscience.
From a design perspective, Freud has a lot to offer. Design does not equal art. Art is a personal expression – once it’s created it lives foreever – not to be altered by opinion or censorship. Design should always be tested. The designer shouldn’t feel bad. They should feel good when their process identifies significant problems.
As Product Managers, don’t be afraid to backfeed your designers!
I designed products for a company a few years back… the VP of marketing had the same feedback – it’s great…the customers are really penting up on this… it’s awesome. Meanwhile, design changes would be churning the product delivery. Why? If it was so awesome in the first place – why change it?
Common problem – people don’t want to hurt other people’s feelings. This doesn’t help the designer. Doesn’t help the business.
Be honest! Not everything is “awesome”!
(iceberg pic from wikipedia.com)
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