Designing is the basis of any industry. And in today’s world of startups and digitalization, a successful design is the turning point. For a good product, you need a good design and for a good design, you need thorough research. Simply put, pragmatic design is a practical design approach. A pragmatic approach is not limited to the usual practice of applying theories. It is about going to the end-user and understanding their requirements.
Realism is often mixed with idealism in the design world. We design for the ideal person or the ideal surroundings. But today, designers are encouraged to push the boundaries of idealism to explore reality. In simple words, every problem has a different solution for varying persons and varying situations. Pragmatic design is trial and error based as there is no one correct answer to a problem. As the parameters change, so do the solutions.
This approach is applicable in all design areas. The people of today are used to a large number of options. Sometimes you come across things you didn’t know you needed in the first place which become things that you find difficult to live without. This is a method to come up with innovative ideas and solutions for real-world problems.
Pragmatic design is a very functional approach to design. Aesthetics are often secondary in this approach. Our inventions and our designs must respond to the paradigm shift. In architecture, one of the widely known examples of pragmatic design is the advent of Bauhaus after the second world war. Architecture adapted according to the economic situation of the time. Brutalism, minimalism, high-tech designs are some other examples that shifted the whole system giving more importance to the practical aspect of design. The phrase “form follows function“,said by Louis Sullivan, has stuck around ever since.
As our world appears more intertwined than ever, our approach to the simplest of things has changed or has to change. Design research is the basis for providing optimal solutions. For example, almost every object we use has a “smart” version. Designers have to incorporate features that make the design “smart” apart from the job that it was initially intended for. It should be simple enough for the average user and also versatile enough to attract a wide range of users. Now the designers are tasked with researching the requirements of these users to create the product. While this terminology is generally used in interaction design, it can also be used in allied design fields.
Pragmatic design is all about the inputs received after trying out your design in the real world. It is researching theories based on inputs gathered. It is a multi-level approach where you begin with understanding the task at hand and then creating prototypes for the real world.
One can say that pragmatism is a way of design research. Most times, we follow a designated approach to design a project which is divided into stages. Pragmatic design, however, breaks those boundaries and directly delves into the practicality of the issue at hand. In some ways, it appears to be the initial stage of design.
We deal with a constant barrage of problems in a given period. Instead of giving a full and final solution, pragmatism touches on the issue of solving the problem for a given instance. This practical approach is accepting the point that the same problem may require a different solution as the parameters change over time. Catering to the needs of the consumer or client is the main objective of the design, and to be able to truly and completely understand the problem, we need to have adaptable solutions.
Some of the other design methods like the ‘double diamond method’ by the British Design Council – ‘discover, design, develop, deliver’, – and another method by IDEO – ‘empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test’ – explain design methodology and are widely used. But pragmatism goes in a sort of a loop where you go back and forth to the stages of design as you get new inputs by trial and error. This method differs by not sticking to one set style of phases which means that the design has to be tested out in the real-world multiple times before being finalized.
While this approach may not sound suitable to some, it fulfils the requirements of the end-user in most cases today. Another pro is that it leaves space for a lot of customization that happens to be the requirement of a large number of users today. In addition to this, we have a large assortment of materials and technology readily available to incorporate into our designs. This expands the limits for practicality along with innovation. It can be said that pragmatic designs and a pragmatic design research approach are best suited to consumer requirements in our ever-changing and ever-evolving world.
References:
- UX Collective (2016). Pragmatic design: how does design thinking fit into the real world? [Online]. (Last updated 12 August 2016). Available at: Pragmatic design: how does design thinking fit into the real world? | by Davey van der Woert | UX Collective (uxdesign.cc) [Accessed 8 January 2022]
