Judging the success of design

The success or ‘value’ of design clearly depends on the relationship between the product and the judge. Many products are created for general sale to customers for their own personal use. These products can be described as consumable with a limited lifespan and consumers accept that when they are finished with, or worn out they can, and will be replaced. The speed of this process of planned obsolescence varies; some products such as newspapers and magazines, for example, are intended for immediate consumption, replaced swiftly by the next issue and retain little or no value after the initial purchase, but other products like clothes, cars and furniture are each expected to last longer before requiring renewal. If they are carefully looked after or restored, they may well retain a significant second-hand value, but in a commercial context, the principle measure of success for the designers and manufacturers is at the first point of sale, and user demand is an important indicator of the perceived merits of their work.

The performance of mass produced, relatively low-cost products can be assessed objectively by testing, or subjectively through the analysis of market research studies. Refinements can be introduced following research and investment in the construction of prototypes. Advances in technology and fashion or correction of faults can be accommodated in subsequent replacements and indeed, it is widely accepted that many products are designed to wear out rapidly to encourage further sales. Although manufacturers would not admit it, their products are often designed to include elements of in-built obsolescence, encouraging their customers to periodically purchase replacements.

Buildings are not generally like this. They are created as a commercial proposition, built to suit the specific requirements of a commissioning client, but as large, relatively expensive products cannot be easily withdrawn for remedial attention as could a car with a faulty handbrake connection or a play in the West End which receives poor reviews. The new building will be judged on completion in a number of different ways including its internal and external appearance and on the comfort of its accommodation, but in other ways its value may not be immediately clear and first impressions may be misleading as problems materialise with time. Initial satisfaction may be diminished through deteriorating finishes or high running costs over the longer term of occupation.

Whilst buildings are designed, constructed, marketed and sold to the first user, they remain in existence for some time affecting the lives of subsequent users and the community around them, part of a larger scene within the street, village, town or city, unlike the newspaper, book and car, which are essentially for individual, private consumption. Buildings are to some extent public property, demanding qualities which will maintain their performance for a long time, or even continue in existence indefinitely. This is a significant factor as the criteria for judgment may not only vary, but be radically revised as time passes. A brief study of the history of building design during the twentieth century will show how design, manufacture and legal control has altered in response to changes in public and professional opinion, sometimes resulting from experience of failure, but more often reflecting changes in design theory, technology, life style and political intervention.

In the face of all these pressures to change, the design team must get everything right at the first time of asking, satisfying diverse sources of interest. Most buildings are unique, constructed to deadlines, and are only as good as they can be at that time. The first target is a satisfied client, but true success depends on the level of expectation which the building designer, the development team, the local community and the wider society as a whole demands, or is prepared to accept. Here, the building designer will find pressures to confirm or to innovate; to satisfy narrow demands or to explore possibilities.