Make things that you will like
In the last month, there has been a cognitive convergence about personal taste as a source of design and creativity. The documentary The Pixar Story has John Lasseter and team talking about how they make movies they want to watch. Seth Rogen, in a pre-Pineapple Express release interview told the NYT that he and his collaborators make movies they want to watch. And iD founders Romero and Carmack (remember them?), said that their work was all about making games what they wish they could be (ie, the ones they want to play).
I was at a project kick-off a few months ago when an account lead asked me when design would start — politely wondering if audience research was scheduled aggressively enough to allow time for design. When I stated that we had already started design explorations, the room was silent. The project hadn’t even started and we were already sketching and photoshopping?!? There was stunned disbelief that design could be done without lots and lots of research. One person asked, “you’ll just go off of personal taste?” What followed was a three month, still unfinished, dialogue about whether there is such a thing as creative expertise: is it possible to do design without lots of data driving you in the right direction? Is design that isn’t heavily informed by data a matter of personal taste?
The statements from Lasseter, Rogen, and the iD boys aren’t purely assertions of personal taste. Each of these people were students of their crafts: storytelling, animation, comedy, programming, games. Each was also a student of his market, deeply familiar with the work of others, and a passionate fan of his medium. The gauge “would I like it” isn’t an assertion that they are the audience and their needs are the ones that need to be met. It’s actually a means of holding themselves to a higher standard: “I have seen the best, I know why it’s the best, and I enjoy the best, so can I create something that I will enjoy?” It’s a much tougher standard than it sounds, and one that both assumes and creates empathy with the final audience.