You must have a fantastic camera
A photographer went to a dinner party in New York. As he arrived, the host said "I love your pictures - they're wonderful. You must have a fantastic camera."
He said nothing until dinner was over. Then: "That was a wonderful dinner. You must have a terrific stove."
That story (from the photographer Sam Haskins) has stuck with me for years.
The tool isn't the talent
Ten years ago, the promise was that a new design tool made design easy. One article actually said "design isn't hard to learn". I understand the point - tools had made something complex much simpler. But it's a shame to say it. Part of me even wonders whether exceptional design can be learned at all. It seems to sit with a few very, very talented people.
Now the fantastic camera is AI. Type a prompt and you get a screen. A logo. A whole app, if you're feeling brave.
The oven still doesn't cook the dinner.
Why it matters
Businesses already know this, even if they don't always act on it. Diageo said that for all the billions spent on advertising, the best place to catch a shopper's attention is the bottle and the label. The CEO of Pentland Brands put it more bluntly: "anybody can design a decent product. They can't all design outstanding products. So, design is the differentiator."
Decent is now free. Outstanding still takes the photographer.
Tip
Invest in the photographer, not just the camera. The tools will keep changing. The eye is what you're really paying for.
Starter for 10 - some useful links
The Design Economy - Design Council - the report where those Diageo and Pentland quotes come from
Dieter Rams' ten principles for good design - still the best checklist for "outstanding"
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman - why good design is harder than it looks
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