What the book “The Complex Designer” is about

Retrospective

June 12, 2023

Author — Eugene Arutyunov, quotes selected by Julia Karimova

This is a set of self-explanatory (or not really) ideas rather than a summary of the book. It’s hard to make a summary, since the text is as dense as it gets. Well or maybe I just hate summaries!

However:

Chapter 1. Idea Generator

Creating is like talking · Design languages · People’s portraits · Your own story · The biggest know-how of creativity

Further we’ll talk about the built-in “idea generator” that everyone has, what this generator needs to function properly, and how it can be fixed. Such words as language, recipient, and intention will be mentioned.

Design languages	Challenges	Frequent problems
Composition language	Identify correlations Manage the focus	Fit everything in Place the accents accurately
Data language	Help to understand and compare numbers Reveal patterns Tell stories	Signal to noise ratio Choosing the best perspective and scale Reliability, relevance and statistical significance of the data
Interaction language	Describe the states and reactions of components Simulate user flows	Indication and quick feedback Consistency, predictability, interface patterns clarity
Verbal language	Describe new phenomena, abstract concepts, any complexity and uncertainty Tell stories	Clarity
Meme language	Involve associations Use pre-packaged meanings	Recognition

Chapter 2. How to not be afraid

Nothing will happen · Everything can be fixed · Hypothesis and experiment · The smart vs the bold wrestling · The greatest secret of courage · Assessments matter · The right to make an error · What to be afraid of

Further we will talk about what we are actually afraid of: things that happen suddenly, assessments, uncertainty, making the wrong choice — and what can be done about it all. Also, what we really should be afraid of.

Chapter 3. Sturdy Design

Acceptance · Abstract design properties · Multicriteria optimization · See the future through design

Here are some abstract design properties:

Sparseness

Density

Tectonicity

Uniformity

Coherence

Composability

Conventionality

Unusualness

Read the full version to understand it all

Chapter 4. Difficult Client

Wants more design, forgets agreements, wants urgently and more options, offers his own, delays the process, causes chaos and panic, doubts everything and consults with everyone · No, no and no · Fences and sandboxes

Fences strategy	Sandbox strategy
set standards and prohibitions, restrict options, put agreements on the record	get to know each other, take the first steps, play, observe, share experiences and build trust
avoid difficult, conflicting or unusual situations	learn to overcome any difficult situations together
stick strictly to your processes, standards and tools	share standards and tools, learn from experience and try out new things
work in closed mode, communicate through account managers, show beautiful results only, so that you can be sure	work transparently, communicate directly, show results constantly and continuously, even raw and controversial ones
order is more important than anything else	order is necessary, but the key thing is to move forward and find new things
uncertainty is bad, it must be eliminated	uncertainty is normal, accept it
mistakes are bad - suppress them, punish for them	mistakes are inevitable, but it is really bad to be afraid of mistakes
each team is responsible for their own thing and does not stick their noses in other people’s business	we are all together responsible for the overall outcome, and each team member is personally responsible for their own tasks

Asshole-awesomeness scale:

Impulsive,

egocentric,

ignorant,

chaotic,

opportunistic

behavior

Conscious,

empathic,

rational,

organized,

fundamental

behavior

In all fairy tales, characters are either bad, или good; in dramas, characters undergo a crisis and transform. But in real life, people behave the way they feel most comfortable at the moment. Normally a person has some sort of asshole-awesomness range, and in each individual situation you can activate both the worst, and the best of the available modes.

Chapter 5. Clarifier

Awareness Matrix · Just Questions · Effective Questions · Awkward Questions · Haziness · Impartiality · The essential secret of mutual understanding

Awareness Matrix:

Unconscious
ignorance

An individual doesn’t know certain things,
and may not know they exist at all,
they have no questions and no sense that any information is missing.

Unconscious
knowledge

An individual feels they know certain things,
but they do not remember how they happened to learn them,
and have never given a thought about it before.

Conscious
ignorance

An individual realizes they don’t know certain things,
and can name them, can formulate a question,
and are willing to accept the answer.

Conscious
knowledge

An individual knows certain things,
remembers how they gained that knowledge,
and can specify the source.

It takes two things to reach mutual understanding:

Genuine interest
A willingness to agree

Chapter 6. More Money

The key secret to sustainability · No discounts · Cautious with pre-payments · Perfection and complexity · Unpaid mode · Diversification · Transparency or taboo · Not everything sells · Money is good

The dependable way to earn more is to increase the complexity of projects. The only tiny problem is that complex projects are harder to do. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Draw a logo

Create an identity and design system

Come up with a brand platform, communication strategy, style, style guides and the whole design

Draw a website layout

Design, code and publish the website

Assemble the product team and set up the design process for continuous development of the website

Chapter 7. Deadline and Freedom

Quite a character · Suffering · Time · Plan · Continuous Integration · Deadline · Bad Games · Promises

My typical week:

MON