Is Design Really That Creative?

The process of software design can be creative. It can feel like you are charting new lands. It can also be mind numbingly mechanical. The output of software design is largely the tip of the iceberg, creativity is often found in the way you do something, not what you do.

In Theory

Design is mainly about problem solving and solving problems is inherently creative. Especially if you're trying to solve new problems or old problems in new ways. Software is constantly packaging up new things so they can be easily understood and used.

Constraints drive creativity and software design is highly constrained.

Good designers think about a design task and excavate the core problem. This takes a lot of creativity, amongst many other things.

The output of design, when done well, is beautiful, elegant to use and draws an emotional response. These are all things that require creativity to implement and balance.

In Practice

So design in its natural state is creative, absolutely no question. The reality on the ground is that designing software in 2024 is really not that creative at all.

Modern software design is mainly about logic. Assessing the problem, breaking down the requirements and assembling a solution is an act of rigorous logic and pattern matching.

Jakob’s Law has been mercilessly drummed into a generation of practical designers keen to ship things that are easy to use and cheap to build.

The pervasiveness of design systems means that shipping anything that isn't an incremental improvement on something else is virtually impossible to argue for.

Whilst creativity thrives within constraints, modern software design is so constrained that there is no room left for creativity at all.

The Designer Decides

Whether the process of design is creative depends on the organisation, the culture, the product and the designer. I still believe the most important factor is the designer.

Yes, you will find that trying to be creative leads to more problems and frustration. You will bump up against time constraints and people who just want the same repeatable process to put into their Powerpoint diagram. Ignore those people as much as possible but remember that creativity is not inherently valuable. Use it when logic has failed to give a satisfactory answer. Use it when you are bored. Use it when you have time and an idea.

Good designers in overly restrictive systems will create fast, repeatable & mediocre design work. Lots of companies are happy with that. The main thing to ask is are you?