Ugly Design: When Form Doesn't Equal Beauty

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<v Voice Over>This is iDesign Lab, a podcast where creativity and curiosity meet style and design.

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<v Voice Over>Curator of interiors, furnishings and lifestyles.

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<v Voice Over>Hosted by Tiffany Woolley, an interior designer and a style enthusiast, along with her serial entrepreneur husband Scott, idesign Lab is your ultimate design podcast where we explore the rich and vibrant world of design and its constant evolution in style and trends.

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<v Voice Over>Idesign Lab provides industry insight, discussing the latest trends, styles and everything in between to better help you style your life, through advice from trendsetters, designers, influencers, innovators, fabricators and manufacturers, as well as personal stories that inspire, motivate and excite.

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<v Voice Over>And join us on this elevated, informative and lively journey into the world of all things design.

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<v Scott Woolley>Welcome to the iDesign Lab, where we tackle everything that you can think about having to do with design.

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<v Scott Woolley>Today we're going to talk a little about ugly design.

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<v Scott Woolley>We're going to have a little bit of a conversation about how ugly design is everywhere in our life and we normally don't even think about it, realize it, we sometimes laugh about it and actually sometimes, and a lot of times, ugly design does very well in retail and does very well as a business, from either logos to design of products or the way things work logos to design of products or the way things work.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>Well, it has a lot to do with form equals function, so sometimes those two things don't equal beauty.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>So I mean, I think a funny example that kind of gets everybody's brain jogged is the Crocs shoe.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>Correct, Because obviously they're not attractive in any way, shape or form.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>However, it is a billion-dollar brand.

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<v Scott Woolley>Right.

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<v Scott Woolley>So when Crocs came out, everyone looked at it, saying what is that?

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<v Scott Woolley>Yeah, God how ugly could that be?

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<v Scott Woolley>Why would someone wear that?

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<v Tiffany Woolley>Exactly.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>I still don't understand.

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<v Scott Woolley>But it became very, very big, even like most chefs use some sort of crock.

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<v Scott Woolley>I don't know exactly why, because I think it's ergonomic.

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<v Scott Woolley>Ergonomic, yeah, comfortable before.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>So that's another reason that leads to ugly.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>Design, to ergonomics in general, doesn't lead to beautiful design.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>I think sometimes the beauty is in its cleanliness.

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<v Scott Woolley>Well, Crocs are comfortable.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>And Crocs are clean.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>It's one material.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>It's not busy, even though it's got a lot of detail.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>It's very simple.

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<v Scott Woolley>Yeah, so we wanted to spend a few minutes today on this podcast just to talk about ugly design.

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<v Scott Woolley>Like Crocs, as we just mentioned, another one that everyone kind of forgets about, but there's that one time of the year where everyone kind of it comes right back in your face.

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<v Scott Woolley>Are the what, and they call them the ugly christmas sweaters oh yeah, I think everybody probably has owned one or worn one and laughed about it.

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<v Scott Woolley>I mean, I've had a few over the years and when I would get on I would say I'm not gonna wear this, this is as ugly as could be.

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<v Scott Woolley>But then I find myself that it's nostalgic.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>It's kind of a feeling, I mean, and we operate on feelings in this world we live in nowadays, right and just think of how many people have had ugly sweater or ugly.

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<v Scott Woolley>you know sweater parties or you have to attend the party wearing an ugly sweater.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>Yeah, they still do.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>It's like a thing.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>You're right, and I go back to the form and function but also, as I just said, feelings, because so much about design is a feeling and I know, even in the interior design field, a lot of you know high-end designers that I actually follow and you know look to for reference and inspiration.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>You know some people might be like, oh, that's ugly.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>So beauty really is in the eye of the beholder, correct, and there's some people who find simplicity ugly.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>There's some people who find, you know, over design ugly.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>But I kind of go back to, with design is like what has stood the test of time.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>So obviously an ugly design is kind of becomes a what do you call like a kitschy part of time.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>It's like, oh, you remember this or you remember that because of, like you said, ugly sweater or oh, croc generation or like these you know, know, super modern houses like was, like the Miami Vice, the 80s, and it's kind of coming back again.

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<v Scott Woolley>So I feel like it's proving to stand the test of time in the long run, but most if you walk into a house that was decorated in the 80s, most people walk into the house going.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>oh, my God.

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<v Scott Woolley>How ugly is this?

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<v Scott Woolley>But back in the 80s that was like the end thing.

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<v Scott Woolley>So cool.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>And now, like you do walk into homes and you walk into places that are full of like a time warp and you do be like, oh my goodness, like how can somebody keep this?

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<v Tiffany Woolley>And I mean, who ever thought of a round bed being like a great idea?

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<v Tiffany Woolley>I mean it's kind of so.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>There's some things through generations and through time that we kind of scratch our head at, but for the most part, I feel like so, some ugly comes in and out over the years.

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<v Scott Woolley>So some ugly stuff, yeah, is a fad, but then there's also ugly like I think about.

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<v Scott Woolley>Gapap changed their logo a number of years back and they changed just the font to a Helvetica font and there was such an uproar over what it looked like that literally six days later Gap quickly changed it across.

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<v Scott Woolley>You know all of their retail platforms and stores putting it back to the logo or the font that we know today.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>Well, sometimes, with design or referring to ugly design, it could also be really, in a nutshell, the lack of design.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>You could even say Apple is an ugly design, the brand of Apple.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>Their design is very sterile.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>It's very minimal, there is really no design.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>It's not like a beauty, but the beauty is in its simplicity.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>So it kind of taught us to appreciate it.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>So sometimes ugly design gets appreciated over time and over, as people's tastes evolve and grow your appreciation.

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<v Scott Woolley>Well, some of the ugly design is the lack of design or the lack of information.

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<v Scott Woolley>Great example of that is Ikea Ikea and almost everything that you buy, and it's a huge, huge, multi-billion dollar retail company.

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<v Scott Woolley>But when you buy something, almost everything has to be assembled and there's always been the complaints of the fact that there's no instructions.

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<v Scott Woolley>It's just pictures and it's a very difficult design for many people to follow and many people feel it's a really ugly way of which they've put their instructions together, but they've continued and it's made them successful.

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<v Scott Woolley>Wow, and it's also because of that.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>People have talked about it, People complain about it, but they still— Well, they say as long as they're talking about you, it's a good thing, right, Right?

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<v Scott Woolley>So ugly design sometimes really works and is very helpful if it is ugly, because you'll get more PR out of it, more exposure.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>I think that was probably the truth for Crocs as well, and I'm sure there's others along the way.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>We could consider that fell into that same category.

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<v Scott Woolley>Right.

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<v Scott Woolley>But then there's other, like the Internet.

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<v Scott Woolley>Think about Craigslist.

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<v Scott Woolley>Those are websites, correct, the Craigslist website is a very ugly, I mean there is no design, but it's very successful and it does what it needs to do with very little and lack of design.

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<v Scott Woolley>Almost it's like a throwback to when the internet first started and they haven't changed it.

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<v Scott Woolley>I mean, even Google and Facebook when they first started was a really simple, somewhat ugly design, but it came about.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>Anytime there's innovation and there's things that are new, you're going to open yourself up to criticism which is ugly, design or function, and I feel like those feelings evolve over time.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>And it's same thing, like whenever, like I know, like they've mentioned, like when the Olympics changed their logo in London, and you know just things when people aren't prepared for those changes, all of a sudden it's like oh, that's ugly.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>I know.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>Like when we drive around town and there's a new building going up, you know that you're familiar with, you know that Walgreens used to be on the corner or what have you, but when you're driving around, you'll be like oh that's what they're putting there.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>Oh, like, how did that pass?

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<v Tiffany Woolley>You know the building department.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>You know after.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>I, like, deal with the building department on a daily basis, making our life miserable as we're trying to make things more beautiful, or even when it's historic properties.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>We're definitely trying to preserve beauty and history.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>They make our life crazy.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>But then all this ugly design gets approved.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>Like, how does that even happen?

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<v Scott Woolley>That I don't have an answer for, but if you think, about it.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>It's a feeling.

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<v Scott Woolley>But there's also design, where some of the ugly design is intentional Spirit Airlines when Spirit Airlines launched, they wanted to be known as an inexpensive airline to fly, so they wanted to look cheap.

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<v Scott Woolley>Yes, they wanted their logo.

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<v Scott Woolley>They wanted the way in which their planes were painted up.

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<v Scott Woolley>Logoed up was done to look good kind of cheap and you know that it would resonate with people going oh, that's an inexpensive airline.

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<v Scott Woolley>Even the way in which the interior of the planes were designed was kind of to make you feel as though this is a Low rent.

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<v Scott Woolley>Yeah.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>Again, you said feeling, so I really think a lot of this is feeling, and beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

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<v Scott Woolley>Right, but going back to the 1950s with McDonald's, when McDonald's launched.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>The Golden Arches, the.

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<v Scott Woolley>Golden Arches.

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<v Scott Woolley>People didn't quite understand.

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<v Scott Woolley>Okay, mcdonald's and an M, but people thought, like, what kind of logo or design is that?

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<v Scott Woolley>It didn't make sense.

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<v Scott Woolley>People thought back in the 50s and the early 60s, when McDonald's was starting out, that it was an ugly design.

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<v Scott Woolley>But people don't think about that today because it's a you know, a billion-dollar international brand.

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<v Scott Woolley>You know everywhere on the planet.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>Well, think of, like even the 80s is definitely like hallmarked by neon, and you know the 80s kind of owns ugly design, you know, not just in residential but just in the overabundance of kind of ugly, I guess.

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<v Scott Woolley>We'd love to hear from people and what they think is ugly design.

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<v Scott Woolley>You know, if you've got an ugly design that you're familiar with, hit us up on Instagram and let us know, give us your best ugly.

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<v Scott Woolley>Yes, absolutely.

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<v Tiffany Woolley>Well, that's our tidbit for today.

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<v Voice Over>Thanks for being part of us with some ugly design.

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<v Voice Over>Idesign Labs Podcast is an SW Group production in association with the Five Star and TW Interiors.

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<v Voice Over>To learn more about iDesign Lab or TW Interiors, please visit twinteriorscom.