My Design Philosophy: A Little Inspiration from Gaudí
In 2023 I had the opportunity to lead a student trip to Spain, and on that trip we visited Barcelona and many sites designed by Antoni Gaudí. I had been a Gaudí fangirl long before this trip because his work is so unusual and so different from everything else, but also because he devoted himself to a masterpiece he knew would not be completed in his lifetime, developing detailed plans and models so that others could carry his vision forward. Sadly, I don't have any of his artistic vision, and I don't think I've ever left anyone questioning if I was a madwoman or a genius (when Gaudí graduated from architecture school, the director reportedly wondered whether they had awarded a degree to a madman or a genius), but I am very interested in designing systems and documentation that can outlive the person who made them.
Obviously, I'm not designing cathedrals. I'm designing courses, websites, instructional materials, and technology systems. But I believe many of the same principles apply. Good design requires a clear vision, thoughtful attention to detail, and an understanding of how individual components contribute to the larger structure.
When I design a course, I want students to be able to navigate it intuitively and concentrate on learning rather than figuring out how the course works. When I develop a website, I want the people who use it to find what they need, and the people who maintain it to be able to update it without specialized technical knowledge. When I build organizational systems, I want them to continue functioning even when the people responsible for them move on.
This also means that design is never really finished. I build systems, observe how people use them, identify problems, and make improvements. Sometimes those improvements are small; sometimes they require rethinking the underlying structure. The goal isn't perfection. It's creating something useful, sustainable, and adaptable.
My approach can be summarized in a few principles:
Purpose before technology. Identify the problem before choosing the tool.
Accessibility by design. Remove unnecessary barriers so people can focus on what matters.
Structure matters. Create consistent, intuitive systems that people can understand.
Design for sustainability. Build things that can be maintained, adapted, and improved by others.
Keep improving. Treat every design as an opportunity to learn from actual use.
Given my abysmal lack of artistic ability, the things that I create will never inspire breathless wonder like Gaudí's masterpieces. But I do hope that the systems I create will continue to be useful long after I've moved on to something else. And if those systems allow someone to spend more time with their family, pursue activities they love, or otherwise enjoy life, that is its own kind of beauty.