If you were to draw a parallel between user experience design and architecture, it would appear that style, conviction and personal signature are underexposed in a digital world in which the paradigm of the user prevails and results in digital homogeneity. Web designers can learn a lot from the so-called 'starchitects'.
D
Author
Henk Haaima
Digital platforms show many similarities to architectural structures. Digital ecosystems are closely related to urban planning. Drawing a parallel between user experience design (UX) and architecture shows that style, conviction and personal signature are underexposed in a digital world where the paradigm of the 'user' prevails and results in digital homogeneity. Web designers can learn a lot from the so-called 'starchitects', architects who have gained star status due to the distinct style of their structures.
'Starchitect' is an amalgamation of 'star' and 'architect' and refers to architects whose 'wow factor architecture' has made them idols. The public buildings of these architects are very outspoken and progressive design statements. Well-known starchitects include the modernist Frank Lloyd Wright (Guggenheim Museum, New York), the postmodernist Frank Gehry (Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao) and closer to home and in the here and now Rem Koolhaas (De Rotterdam) and Winny Maas (Depot Boymans van Beuningen).
The structures mentioned are eccentric statements of form that stem from the function of the building. Underlying the form of the stacked sugar cubes of Rem Koolhaas' De Rotterdam is the idea of a vertical city, a building that unites various functions such as living, working and relaxing. The spherical shape of the new Depot of the Museum Boymans van Beuningen also stems from the building's function, a repository for the museum's collection. The basic idea, making publicly accessible what is usually hidden, also translates into the facade made up of mirrors and the roof garden with a café-restaurant.
This utilitarian approach ("form follows function") is closely related to the design of digital platforms. These too are actually structures with diverse functions that are primarily visited and used by people. For example, the site structure and navigation of a website has the same function as signage in public buildings.
There are striking differences in two respects. Digital platforms are generally not distinct style statements. Also, Web designers generally seem less committed and ideologically inspired than architects.
This can probably be explained by the immature status of the still relatively new field and by the so-called 'Wiki mentality' so strongly associated with the Internet. There is a strong idea that the Internet belongs to everyone, and that includes the accumulation of knowledge and the creation of design. Not the expert is put on a pedestal but the 'user'. According to creative technologist and creator of the term VR, Jaron Lanier, this mindset leads to mediocrity on an unprecedented scale. The Wiki mentality hinders the maturing of the field and creates retarded design. We are a long way from starchitecture in digital design.
In the next section, we briefly dive into the history of thirty years of web design with the aim of providing an idea of the above claims. To what extent does style and ideology play a role in the digital industry?
It is time to leave behind the paradigm of the user and collective creativity in the form of CX conventions
The first generation of Web sites (Web1: 1990-2005) were primarily textual due to slow bandwidths. The layouts are much like a letter box. All surfaces are filled with bits of navigation, information and functionalities.
A major revolution is taking place in the second generation of Web sites (Web2: 2005-2020). Layouts become 'responsive' and adapt to the user's mostly mobile device. Blocky layouts disappear and make way for spacious layouts with a focus on easy-to-read text. Two styles alternate: 'skeumorphic' and 'flat'. A maturing industry is working diligently on standards and design systems with the goal of making the Web more inclusive and user-friendly.
We are now in the transition period to the algorithmic and immersive web (Web3: 2020-). Flat A4s with a scrollbar will gradually give way to richer 3d experiences.
The history of Web design at a glance shows mostly a young still-evolving industry that keeps up with technological changes. This leads to beautiful design revolutions such as responsive and immersive design. Major players like Apple and Google are showing grand design gestures that point to digital design coming of age. However, these design frameworks are being adopted so widely that a kind of digital sameness arises. Style and creativity are disappearing into the background as a result.
In 2019, Forrester published a report discussing the lack of creativity and distinctive brand experiences in digital design. Addressing the same user cases, conducting generic user research, applying uniform UX patterns, and using identical content management systems has made the design of digital platforms, products, and services homogeneous. If you open some websites of some random fashion brands, banks, airlines and even creative agencies and think away the logo for a moment you come to the conclusion that it is extremely difficult to identify the brand. This phenomenon is referred to as 'digital sameness' and has a negative impact on the bottom line of large companies. The report is therefore a call to the creative industry to come up with more distinct brand statements.
Forrester's famous report echoes after in current trend reports. For example, in a recent Ideas Report published by WeTransfer. Already on one of the first pages it warns that creativity is under pressure and, a few pages further on, is dying out even in the Western world. The explanation given is the risk-averse mindset of creatives in the West. A little later, that turns out to be mostly aging white men. The report then navigates towards people of color, women and non-binary people and people with a moral compass from whom the creativity of tomorrow is apparently expected. White men are also allowed to participate if they are willing to leave their ego behind: "The age of the creative ego is dying."
These fine words and at the same time rather clichéd recommendations, linking creativity to an underdog position and a moral compass, seem far removed from the previously discussed phenomenon of 'starchitecture' and are probably not going to move our field forward. In general terms, the Forrester report calls for more creativity and outspoken brand statements. How exactly that will happen is not made clear.
The findings in all large-scale studies on the current status of digital design are more or less the same. Formulating solutions for breaking the digital homogeneity and showing more creativity proves difficult. In translating abstract findings into concrete actions, the example of starchitecture provides us with guidance. If we define starchitecture, apart from the perhaps negative connotation of architects' star status, as displaying conviction, personality and style, this could be the solution for brands to achieve more distinctive and distinctive digital brand experiences. Developing a personal signature and a conscientious mindset, the hallmarks of starchitects, therefore deserves full attention from educators of a new generation of digital creatives.
Starchitects shows us how digital creatives can break digital sameness and the lack of creativity and persuasiveness in the digital manifestation of brands. Digital designers, like architects, are primarily focused on designing utilitarian design in which form comes from function. However, digital designers largely gravitate toward CX conventions for form where starchitects dare to establish a personal vision and style with their constructions. This is caused by a still young industry with a dangerous and one-sided focus on collective knowledge and creativity, aptly referred to by Jaron Lanier as 'digital Maoism'. It is time to leave behind the paradigm of the 'user' and collective creativity in the form of CX conventions and bring more personality and vision to the design of a digital platform, product or service so that, like the structures shown in this article, they become true style statements.
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If you were to draw a parallel between user experience design and architecture, it would appear that style, conviction and personal signature are underexposed in a digital world in which the paradigm of the user prevails and results in digital homogeneity. Web designers can learn a lot from the so-called 'starchitects'.
Auteur: Henk Haaima
D
Digital platforms show many similarities to architectural structures. Digital ecosystems are closely related to urban planning. Drawing a parallel between user experience design (UX) and architecture shows that style, conviction and personal signature are underexposed in a digital world where the paradigm of the 'user' prevails and results in digital homogeneity. Web designers can learn a lot from the so-called 'starchitects', architects who have gained star status due to the distinct style of their structures.
'Starchitect' is an amalgamation of 'star' and 'architect' and refers to architects whose 'wow factor architecture' has made them idols. The public buildings of these architects are very outspoken and progressive design statements. Well-known starchitects include the modernist Frank Lloyd Wright (Guggenheim Museum, New York), the postmodernist Frank Gehry (Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao) and closer to home and in the here and now Rem Koolhaas (De Rotterdam) and Winny Maas (Depot Boymans van Beuningen).
The structures mentioned are eccentric statements of form that stem from the function of the building. Underlying the form of the stacked sugar cubes of Rem Koolhaas' De Rotterdam is the idea of a vertical city, a building that unites various functions such as living, working and relaxing. The spherical shape of the new Depot of the Museum Boymans van Beuningen also stems from the building's function, a repository for the museum's collection. The basic idea, making publicly accessible what is usually hidden, also translates into the facade made up of mirrors and the roof garden with a café-restaurant.
This utilitarian approach ("form follows function") is closely related to the design of digital platforms. These too are actually structures with diverse functions that are primarily visited and used by people. For example, the site structure and navigation of a website has the same function as signage in public buildings.
There are striking differences in two respects. Digital platforms are generally not distinct style statements. Also, Web designers generally seem less committed and ideologically inspired than architects.
This can probably be explained by the immature status of the still relatively new field and by the so-called 'Wiki mentality' so strongly associated with the Internet. There is a strong idea that the Internet belongs to everyone, and that includes the accumulation of knowledge and the creation of design. Not the expert is put on a pedestal but the 'user'. According to creative technologist and creator of the term VR, Jaron Lanier, this mindset leads to mediocrity on an unprecedented scale. The Wiki mentality hinders the maturing of the field and creates retarded design. We are a long way from starchitecture in digital design.
In the next section, we briefly dive into the history of thirty years of web design with the aim of providing an idea of the above claims. To what extent does style and ideology play a role in the digital industry?
It is time to leave behind the paradigm of the user and collective creativity in the form of CX conventions
The first generation of Web sites (Web1: 1990-2005) were primarily textual due to slow bandwidths. The layouts are much like a letter box. All surfaces are filled with bits of navigation, information and functionalities.
A major revolution is taking place in the second generation of Web sites (Web2: 2005-2020). Layouts become 'responsive' and adapt to the user's mostly mobile device. Blocky layouts disappear and make way for spacious layouts with a focus on easy-to-read text. Two styles alternate: 'skeumorphic' and 'flat'. A maturing industry is working diligently on standards and design systems with the goal of making the Web more inclusive and user-friendly.
We are now in the transition period to the algorithmic and immersive web (Web3: 2020-). Flat A4s with a scrollbar will gradually give way to richer 3d experiences.
The history of Web design at a glance shows mostly a young still-evolving industry that keeps up with technological changes. This leads to beautiful design revolutions such as responsive and immersive design. Major players like Apple and Google are showing grand design gestures that point to digital design coming of age. However, these design frameworks are being adopted so widely that a kind of digital sameness arises. Style and creativity are disappearing into the background as a result.
In 2019, Forrester published a report discussing the lack of creativity and distinctive brand experiences in digital design. Addressing the same user cases, conducting generic user research, applying uniform UX patterns, and using identical content management systems has made the design of digital platforms, products, and services homogeneous. If you open some websites of some random fashion brands, banks, airlines and even creative agencies and think away the logo for a moment you come to the conclusion that it is extremely difficult to identify the brand. This phenomenon is referred to as 'digital sameness' and has a negative impact on the bottom line of large companies. The report is therefore a call to the creative industry to come up with more distinct brand statements.
Forrester's famous report echoes after in current trend reports. For example, in a recent Ideas Report published by WeTransfer. Already on one of the first pages it warns that creativity is under pressure and, a few pages further on, is dying out even in the Western world. The explanation given is the risk-averse mindset of creatives in the West. A little later, that turns out to be mostly aging white men. The report then navigates towards people of color, women and non-binary people and people with a moral compass from whom the creativity of tomorrow is apparently expected. White men are also allowed to participate if they are willing to leave their ego behind: "The age of the creative ego is dying."
These fine words and at the same time rather clichéd recommendations, linking creativity to an underdog position and a moral compass, seem far removed from the previously discussed phenomenon of "starchitecture" and are probably not going to move our field forward. In general terms, the Forrester report calls for more creativity and outspoken brand statements. How exactly that will happen is not made clear.
The findings in all large-scale studies on the current status of digital design are more or less the same. Formulating solutions for breaking the digital homogeneity and showing more creativity proves difficult. In translating abstract findings into concrete actions, the example of starchitecture provides us with guidance. If we define starchitecture, apart from the perhaps negative connotation of architects' star status, as displaying conviction, personality and style, this could be the solution for brands to achieve more distinctive and distinctive digital brand experiences. Developing a personal signature and a conscientious mindset, the hallmarks of starchitects, therefore deserves full attention from educators of a new generation of digital creatives.
Starchitects shows us how digital creatives can break digital sameness and the lack of creativity and persuasiveness in the digital manifestation of brands. Digital designers, like architects, are primarily focused on designing utilitarian design in which form comes from function. However, digital designers largely gravitate toward CX conventions for form where starchitects dare to establish a personal vision and style with their constructions. This is caused by a still young industry with a dangerous and one-sided focus on collective knowledge and creativity, aptly referred to by Jaron Lanier as 'digital Maoism'. It is time to leave behind the paradigm of the 'user' and collective creativity in the form of CX conventions and bring more personality and vision to the design of a digital platform, product or service so that, like the structures shown in this article, they become true style statements.
Read other articles
Read other articles
