In a recent Fast Company article, the author asks:

“Should we move towards the aesthetic austerity that comes with increased economic responsibility, or can we still encourage the unfettered, platinum-kissed extravagance of boom times?”

My answer: Uh. No.

Let me explain.

The heart of the article asks the question: Should designers design for designs sake or should form really be about function?

 In my opinion, form follows function.

I want everything I own, sit on, drive in, drive on, drive through, play with, touch – use in any way-to be well and thoughtfully designed.  That doesn’t mean I need 18k gold chairs.  It means that I want the things I buy and use to be purposeful and pretty.

This is one of the reasons that the high rise housing projects of the 1960′s were such a failure.  Communities needed to house large numbers of people, inexpensively.  Instead of thinking about form and function, the “project” was born, and many aspects of well-designed communities (eyes on the street, yards for kids to play, increased social networks, beauty i.e. the people) were not even considered.

Form and function matter to community and economic development in other ways. If a project isn’t well-designed and built with the end user in mind, all the glitz, glamour and promotion that your department can throw at it won’t convince residents and visitors to spend their time and money utilizing your mess.

Success depends on thinking about the who, what, when, where, why of design.

• Who: Who is our target customer? Are we targeting more than one group of people? (Hopefully, yes)
• What: What does our target customer want to see and do? What is our niche?
• When: Are we redeveloping in phases? Can residents and visitors enjoy our redevelopment even if it isn’t completely finished? Are we planning on day, evening, and weekend traffic in our project?
• Where: Where do we want people to go? How long do we want them to stay? Are they walking or driving?
• Why: What is our purpose? Building community? Economic development?

Answering these questions causes you to think with the end project in mind. It makes you answer the question: What does success look like for us?

Government and non-profits that undertake economic and community development projects must balance design with economic responsibility.  These entities do not have the flexibility to take risks in the same ways as private companies.   However, they still cannot afford to skimp on design. Without proper design, you will likely find yourself explaining to the “powers that be” why your community and economic development efforts are failures.