The Details Are Not the Details
The details are not the details.
They make the design.
Charles Eames
I was recently asked by a developer that doesn’t know me very well if I thought the little details were all that important. Eames’ quote literally exploded in my head.
The details are the distinguishing factors that make the iPhone something more than the knock-offs. The details are the decision points that lead you to choose an OXO Good Grips potato peeler over that other one. The details lead people to shop at Target rather than Walmart, to eat at Panera instead of Quizno’s, to pick out a pair of Nikes, order from Amazon, and play World of Warcraft.
But the details run deeper than just brand loyalty and rampant consumerism. The details can evoke emotion. They can turn an object into an heirloom, a service into a relationship, or an experience into a lifelong memory. The details are what make Disney World magical. They make a Pixar film ten times better than any other animated feature on the big screen. They make the Harry Potter novels just as riveting to my sixty-year-old mother as they are to a high school kid.
What I’m insinuating, is that the details are the embodiment of quality. The details make something special. If you aren’t thinking about the details, you aren’t designing.
