Big Think

Question: What defines good design?

Graham Hill: Design, I think you have to look at from a whole bunch of different fronts. But I think, ultimately, design is something that is looked at in a holistic manner, and that solves a problem, and ideally does it in a very efficient manner with the resources used. So it’s something that people enjoy using, and that’s really functional, and does a good job, and lasts a long time. Maybe it’s easily repaired, or certainly at the end of its life can be reused, or recycled.

So I think design is holistic. And a lot of people think of design as aesthetics. And I do think that’s an important part of things, and it shows care and the craft of something.

But I think it’s overall, it’s what problem is this solving and how does it solve it in a really smart and efficient way?

Recorded on: Oct 16, 2007