When we look at these examples of creative design, not many of us think about what was the process behind it. Like any other creative field, design has to have certain rules. Whether it’s graphic visuals, sports shoes, dining room furniture or a skyscraper, the basic do’s and don’ts are somewhat similar.

Every design must have 7 elements: shape, color, space, form, line, value, and texture. Six of these elements are pretty self explanatory, aside perhaps from value. In the world of design, value refers to the intensity of a color, whether it’s lighter or darker. Designers can use value to create the illusion of mass and volume in their work.

Naturally, color, shape and others are not all that you need for a great design. Aside from these technical details, the approach itself is more important. That’s what is called the principles of design – how all these aforementioned elements are used.

This is where the personality and creativity of the designer comes in. Some designers prefer to put usability at the forefront of their designs, others deem aesthetics as the most important principle of a successful project.

Don Norman, the author of The Design of Everyday Things and director of The Design Lab at University of California has written extensively about user-centered design (UCD). He deems usability of a product to be more important than its aesthetics.

In user-centered design, a designer’s essential task is to create objects that solve the user’s problems. The Interaction Design Foundation describes UCS as “an iterative design process in which designers focus on the users and their needs in each phase of the design process.” UCD therefore requires research on the needs of the user before any concept of a design is brainstormed.

Some examples of UCD real-life examples include memory foam, developed by NASA, the Oral-B kids’ toothbrush and chatbots. Memory foam was created for astronauts who had to experience significant pressure from the G-Force and could adapt to any space-bound body.

The creators of the Oral-B kids’ toothbrush aimed to motivate kids to brush their teeth more – a thing all kids hate. The IDEO design team went against the common opinion that a kid’s toothbrush had to be smaller, just because kids are smaller than adults. By applying UCD, the designers came up with a brush that had a bigger handle and squishy parts for a better grip.

Did you know that the first chatbot was created in the 1960s? Its name was Eliza, a very basic Rogerian psychotherapist. Chatbots use UCD principles to improve the quality and authenticity of every interaction. It personalizes conversations to the user’s liking, thus embodying the essence of user-centered design.

What about aesthetics, you say? After all, it’s common knowledge that people tend to like things that look pretty. Humans are wired to respond to visual stimulation, so an aesthetically pleasing design might distract from a faulty usability. According to the Interaction Design Foundation, studies have shown that users regard a more visually appealing design as more usable than it actually is.

The golden rule, as Interaction Design Foundation states, is to use visuals to entice users: “Design’s critical functionality always comes first – an attractive product that draws users to use it for its main purpose.” Nice aesthetics are what draws people in, and what makes them stay long-term should be the functionality of the design.

Even Don Norman has changed his views on aesthetics over the years. In a revised 2013 version of The Design of Everyday Things, he admits that “aesthetics, pleasure and fun play critically important roles.” He therefore updated his previous definition to “human-centered design”. Human needs, behavior and capabilities are what good designers must have in mind.