We used to debate whether form should follow function or the other way around. Those were the good old days. To say that business is far more competitive today would be a gross understatement. Today, we no longer have the luxury of prioritizing one over the other. Today’s products and services have to nail both.
We’re not just talking about products and services offered by corporations and small businesses, mind you. The social Web being what it is, we’re all products now. We’re always selling. That means everyone from a corporate CEO down to a gig worker has to nail this form and function thing. That means you.
Before we go any further, I should probably tell you that there is one exception. If you don’t mind being a slacker who skates by living paycheck to paycheck, you can ignore all this and get back to whatever it is that you do for fun. Hope I didn’t waste too much of your precious leisure time.
If, on the other hand, you really want to make something of yourself, build a fulfilling career or business you can be proud of, and maybe, just maybe, become financially independent someday, read on.
Not only are form and function both critical to long-term success, both terms have taken on broader definitions than before.
“Form” used to be synonymous with product design, but I would also add the form of communication used to position and market the product, service or person, as the case may be. Form typically provokes an emotional response associated with perception.
Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and consider what you’d like her to feel…