“A designer’s strength should not be defined by their aesthetic nor their style. It really shouldn’t. Instead, it’s truly and deeply thinking about the person that’s at the heart of your design, and how that design can meet their needs and solve a problem.”
– Deborah Adler, “The Heart”
When I think of design, I don’t often think of changing the world, or solutions to a problem. Rather, I imagine a cooky artist, ranting and raving about aesthetic and style, or message and meaning. I think of someone ‘outside the box.’ And in listening to New York- based designer Deborah Adler, I realized that maybe I was just thinking in the wrong context. Because although she does not fit my prior notions about designers, she is still nothing but outside the box!
Adler’s quote above brought me to an entirely different meaning of what design can be. I was interested enough to check out her website, to see what Ms. Adler has been up to. Her home page greets me, ” We are in the mysterious business of creating an experience for people.” Yep, Adler, you are really changing my mind here.
I love the notion that not only are we here to create something beautiful, or appealing, but also functional. And not just functional, but helpful to the user. And not just helpful, but actually life-enriching. Adler’s work is designed, not only with a blanket audience in mind, but even more a carefully crafted and well-thought out analysis of the day-in- and-day-out routines of the people who will be interacting with her designs.
Take, for example, the comprehensive prescription package system developed by Deborah Adler, and later Target, called the ClearRx. The designer explains her concept with a personal anecdote about her grandparents, and their personal mishap with prescription medication. The following photos in the slideshow include further descriptions of the product. Color based rings are used to differentiate medications within a household, particularly useful for elderly people with several prescriptions. There is also a patient info card that tucks behind the label, for important information at easy access, basic warning icons, a clear magnification card for easy reading, and an oral syringe for easy dispension. Do you notice a pattern in these descriptions? Easy, easy, easy.
That is at the base of Adler’s designs. Easy, functional designs that give its user an experience. Deborah Adler has changed my mind on what a designer should be. She has also given me inspiration to look beyond the beautiful or appealing or art-heavy design, and rather see the functionality. Adler helped me realize that the age old saying, less is more, is truer in more ways than one.