Utility Before Beauty

Source: MetMuseum

Inspired by Joshua Porter

The Shakers are a Christian sect which migrated from England to the Colonial United States in the late 18th century. These days they are best known for their minimalist furniture.

Here is their design philosophy:

“Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.” [1]

This articulation expresses the correct precedence of focus when building a product. Build what matters, focus on making it useful, and then, once achieved, consider beauty.

“Good design starts from the inside. Poor design starts on the surface, focusing on false beauty.” — Dieter Rams

Utility before beauty. For you coders out there, I might say HTML before CSS.

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Footnotes:

1. Joshua Porter has a great write up on the Shakers and this tradition.