The Dribbblisation Of Design

Paul Adams, head of product design at Intercom, recently posted a somewhat scathing article on The Dribbblisation of Design. In it, he points out that much of what is popular on Dribbble (and the design community at large) is pretty but thoughtless. His argument is that design is much more complex than just looking good. He speaks to the planning, wireframing, prototyping and broader conceptual thinking of design that needs to be heavily thought on before a pen is ever put to paper.

On the whole, it's a good read and a nice reminder that design is about solving problems - not just prettying up pixels. I think it's safe to say that many people were never taught that lesson and some of us, myself included, can sometimes forget it. Is it unfair to pick on Dribbble for focusing on visual work within a visual medium? Yes, definitely but the article is good food for thought, even if you end up patently disagreeing with it.