Design, we’re often told, is about creativity.
This is nonsense.
Design is about judgement. Ruthless judgement. Preferably exercised early, while fewer people are watching and before someone says, “Can we make the logo bigger?”
The former Chief Design Officer of Apple, Jony Ive, didn’t design by mood board or by committee. He designed by asking very good questions, repeatedly, patiently, and usually while everyone else was still arguing about colour.
So whether you’re designing a product, a piece of packaging, a poster, a website, or something destined to be printed at A0 and ignored in a corridor, here are 15 questions you should ask before you design anything at all.
1. What problem am I actually solving?
Not the brief.
Not the opinion.
Not the PowerPoint slide titled “Objective” that nobody really believes.
What is the problem?
Apple didn’t invent the MP3 player. They invented a tolerable way to use one. The problem wasn’t “music.” It was friction, confusion, and the quiet rage of software that behaved like it resented you.
If you can’t describe the problem clearly, your design will compensate by shouting.
2. Who is this for — specifically — and who can we safely disappoint?
Designing for everyone is a touching ambition and a catastrophic strategy.
Good design makes enemies. It chooses. It excludes. It commits.
Apple products are not for people who enjoy manuals. Or fiddling. Or being reminded how clever the designer is.
If you can’t name your audience in human terms — not “users” or “stakeholders” — you’re decorating, not designing.
3. Will this make sense without explanation?
If your design needs a paragraph of justification, a footnote, or a meeting, it has already failed.
Apple’s greatest achievement wasn’t beauty. It was obviousness.
Ask yourself:
- Would someone know what to do instinctively?
- Or would they hover, hesitate, and quietly blame themselves?
Good design feels like remembering something you never learned.
4. What can I remove without anyone noticing?
This is where design becomes uncomfortable.
Buttons vanish. Lines disappear. Text is deleted. And suddenly, the design breathes.
Jony Ive didn’t add minimalism for aesthetic reasons. He removed things because they weren’t doing enough work to justify their existence.
If an element isn’t pulling its weight, let it go. It won’t be missed.
5. Is this design being honest?
Design lies more often than we admit.
Packaging that oversells. Interfaces that pretend to be simple. Posters that shout to disguise a lack of substance.
Apple’s obsession with materials wasn’t fetishism — it was honesty. Metal should feel like metal. Software should behave like software.
If your design promises more than it can deliver, expect disappointment. And returns.
6. How will this age?
Design trends age like milk.
Ask yourself:
- Will this still look intelligent in five years?
- Or will it be introduced at parties as “very of its time”?
Apple avoided trend-led design because trends require explanation. Proportion does not.
Timeless design is simply design that doesn’t embarrass you later.
7. What emotion should this trigger?
Design always makes people feel something. The question is whether you’ve bothered to decide what that something should be.
Calm? Confidence? Reassurance? Delight?
Apple products don’t shout excitement. They whisper competence.
Emotion in design isn’t decoration. It’s intention.
8. Is the first interaction pleasant?
The first interaction is the design equivalent of a handshake.
Is it confident? Awkward? Sweaty?
Whether it’s opening a box, touching a surface, or navigating a screen, the first moment decides whether the user trusts you.
Delight doesn’t need fireworks. Sometimes it’s just the absence of irritation.
9. What does this say about the brand when no one is watching?
Apple famously finished the inside of products no one would ever see.
This wasn’t madness. It was messaging.
Design communicates values even when it’s hidden. Especially when it’s hidden.
If you only care when you’re being judged, users will sense it.
10. Am I designing for the user… or for applause?
Be honest.
Is this useful — or merely impressive?
Design ego is loud. Good design is suspiciously quiet.
If the design draws attention to itself rather than enabling the user, you’ve made art. Not design.
11. Does the form genuinely follow function?
Not theoretically. Actually.
Is this shape necessary? Is this layout logical? Is this interaction justified?
Apple’s forms emerged from use, not mood boards. Change the function and the form must change too — whether you like it or not.
12. Could this be simpler without becoming stupid?
Simplicity is often mistaken for dumbing down. It isn’t.
Simplicity is clarity after effort.
Ask:
- Can one thing do two jobs?
- Can restraint replace cleverness?
- Can fewer choices improve confidence?
Complexity is easy. Simplicity is earned.
13. Is this inclusive without making a fuss about it?
Good design works for more people quietly.
Accessible. Legible. Intuitive.
Apple didn’t make accessibility features that felt separate. They made them integral.
The best inclusive design doesn’t announce itself. It just works.
14. Would I still stand by this if nobody knew I designed it?
Strip away credit. Awards. Likes.
Is the design still right?
Would you defend it years later?
Integrity is what remains when recognition disappears.
15. Does this respect the user’s time?
Time is the only thing your user truly owns.
Every unnecessary step, every confusing moment, every visual distraction is theft.
Apple respected time by reducing friction. By removing noise. By deciding things so users didn’t have to.
Respect is the highest form of design.
Final Thought: Design Is How It Behaves
Design is not how something looks.
It’s how it behaves in the world.
Jony Ive didn’t design objects. He designed relationships — between people and the things they use every day.
So before you design anything, stop. Ask better questions.
Because good design isn’t clever.
It’s considered.
Honest Reviews 