Function vs. form

I almost always choose a well designed piece over one that is less so. Actually, I always do. Invariably, well designed, thoughtful products that are very expensive function well. Like my vintage Bang & Olufsen stereo. Of the leaf light by Herman Miller. Simple. It makes the decision process easy.

That said, I am at odds with Dyson Root 6. I find the design challenging, much like the ductwork in the movie Brazil. But the performance is amazing. We even use the name as a verb. I ask my younger son "can you Dyson the mess you made over there?"

Sometimes, great performance can overcome less than stellar visual design. The real shame is when an item like the well-designed KONE by Karim Rashid performs in a less than stellar fashion. I have had variants of the dirt-devil and they really suck - and not in a good way.

If you are a visual designer, do you design completely beautiful but unusable things? Or very usable, but banal things? Is your medium and the ecstasy of the design process your reward? Or is that just part of the journey?
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