I recently attended the Design Currency conference in Vancouver, and two of the presentations stand out most clearly for me: Marian Bantjes’ strong defense of artistry and craft in design and Frank Chimero’s lively and compelling argument for the pursuit of a sense of delight in user interfaces (and design in general).

There has been a great deal of discussion in our community regarding ‘design thinking’ and design’s relevance and value to the business community and other buyers of design (and the conference dug into this at length as well). I have long been an advocate of a stronger business focus in design – informed in no small part by my past corporate marketing experience – and a clear separation between art and design. However, the closer our profession has aligned itself to these ideals, the more I have felt that something is missing. The Bantjes/Chimero one-two punch was the clarion call I needed to put language to this gut feeling. It’s not easy to say, but I think I got it wrong; I’m not happy simply being a tool of business.

It makes my clients (both small and large) comfortable when I explain design as a business tool; it makes something intangible feel solid, valuable and measurable. Comfortable clients, as we all know, are easier to work with. However, I now feel that this emphasis on design as a tool strips it of its magic, its mystery. And it is magic, but that’s not a bad thing. Give ten designers the same inputs and you will get ten different solutions. That’s really a wonderful thing; in Frank Chimero’s words, a “delightful” thing.