I still feel you're mischaracterizing the point. Perhaps it might be seen as this, using testing you start from a position, create a few obvious alternative, test, iterate, resulting in a > b3 > c2 > d6 > e3 > f4. You then declare f4 is amazing because it beat the gradual iterations that got it there.
But a designer's there to sit down and go, right, what about z. And j. And 77883. And still not test them, but decide on one. And then refine it and then you test it some and refine it some more.
And even better is that the designed product will have a flow, a coherence because it's not about a bunch of tiny improvements and changes, it's about a vision.
It wouldn't necessarily test well against a to begin with. People don't like change, so say here's Ives' search and here's the instant that's almost exactly like the existing google and you've got a lot of initial resistance that will skew the testing.
But people who love new stuff and then evangelize, mavens I think Gladwell called them, will result in more people trying it and it will end up successful. The people who helped push Twitter and Facebook and Google itself. Not that I buy all of tipping point, but there are some good points in it.
Incremental design is not about design at all, it's more about fear. Designing can include A/B testing, but not at the start. It just seems the wrong way to go to me.
As for the tone, I didn't notice it, but then again I realized after reading it I already agreed with it, he was vocalizing something that has been dawning on me.
But a designer's there to sit down and go, right, what about z. And j. And 77883. And still not test them, but decide on one. And then refine it and then you test it some and refine it some more.
And even better is that the designed product will have a flow, a coherence because it's not about a bunch of tiny improvements and changes, it's about a vision.
It wouldn't necessarily test well against a to begin with. People don't like change, so say here's Ives' search and here's the instant that's almost exactly like the existing google and you've got a lot of initial resistance that will skew the testing.
But people who love new stuff and then evangelize, mavens I think Gladwell called them, will result in more people trying it and it will end up successful. The people who helped push Twitter and Facebook and Google itself. Not that I buy all of tipping point, but there are some good points in it.
Incremental design is not about design at all, it's more about fear. Designing can include A/B testing, but not at the start. It just seems the wrong way to go to me.
As for the tone, I didn't notice it, but then again I realized after reading it I already agreed with it, he was vocalizing something that has been dawning on me.