04-06-2026IMPACT COUNCIL

Design has been solving the wrong problem

Design has optimized for the moment of purchase, not the reality of use.

[Photo: Getty Images]

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For too long, design has been too focused on how things look. That makes sense when products are competing for attention. Form becomes a way to stand out, a signal of taste, a shortcut to desire. But it’s fleeting. A shopper may feel good at checkout, then realize later that the product doesn’t actually enhance her life. That’s a failure.

Most products don’t fail because they look bad. They fail because they don’t hold up in real life. They’re hard to open, awkward to carry, confusing to use, fine in ideal conditions but frustrating everywhere else. As a society, we’ve been designing for the moment of purchase, not the reality of use, and not for the long term.

Real life is not ideal. Hands are full. Attention is split. Bodies change. Needs shift. What works in a studio or a showroom often breaks down in daily routines.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER PURCHASE?

Features that can be marketed in a headline or a surface impression matter, but they are incomplete. What matters just as much is what happens after purchase. Does the product reduce effort or add to........

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