Amy Middleton Loves New York

I have a hard time with break ups, even when they aren’t mine. A journal entry marks the first day I *didn’t* dream about Tom and Nicole after they announced their split.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been trying to reconcile the separation of Douglas Bowman and Google. I admire both, and I’m satisfied that Mr. Bowman will do amazing things as Twitter’s Creative Director. To a large extent I get why he needed to leave (see: my employment history). What bothers me is the irreconcilable differences he cites. Frustrated with Google’s reliance on data, he says:

Without conviction, doubt creeps in. Instincts fail. “Is this the right move?” …Remove all subjectivity and just look at the data. Data in your favor? Ok, launch it. Data shows negative effects? Back to the drawing board.

THAT is the Google way, and that’s why I love Google. The worst part of my job is working with clients who have too much conviction and not enough respect for data. Data isn’t an engineering crutch, it is a collection of voices. Data is user experience. It’s your community telling you “we’re with you on this,” or, “what’s clear to you still isn’t clear to us.”

The brilliance of the web is that it’s interactive; we don’t just speak, we also are privileged to listen. Yet so often, web design has only one charge: make it look awesome. Other concerns (Is it effective? Does it accomplish its objective?) are secondary, often relegated to a different department, divorcing “communication” from “art.”

Data doesn’t prevent daring design; it rewards success. In fact, how can design be “daring” if the designer insists on being sheltered from feedback that could suggest failure? That accountability is still so often forsaken and dismissed is, I believe, a disservice to the design community. I’m surprised at how many Art and Creative Directors require portfolios that showcase fluency in typography or web app development, and entirely overlook their results. If designers aren’t interested in optimizing their own work, looking beyond their own convictions, or responding to user voice, what kind of experience are they designing?