Paul Bennett: Design is in the Details

Bennett manages to pull back the blinkered conventions of eager designers by highlighting empathetic understanding as the basis to good design. From here we can relate people and their "human interaction" more closely to their design problem and all of a sudden we have a successful utility to solve problems. By "being the consumer" a broader spectrum of glaringly obvious denial of the consumers experience are exposed.

Practical in his theory, Bennett cannot deny that beautiful form is usually the popular forefront of design theology, but argues that a more important goal lies within a primal satisfaction of need. Knowing this "real need" has successfully translated into problem solving techniques evident within the work. From allowing design to include a simple gesture of hand holding to completely understanding the relevance of a design solution to its consumer in the KickStart water pump, Bennett demonstrates the big impact a small solution is able to create.

Epitomized within the KickStart water pump is Bennett's satisfying of the needs of corporation as well as the inevitable needs of the consumer, where Kenyan societies are able to become entrepreneurs, and even the youth of the nation can exploit such a basic solution. There is a communication between the design and the human curiosity and value structure that determines the success.

Essentially, an importance of understanding that humans are, in themselves unwitting designers, allows a "small act" in design to pay a much larger dividend. In a world where humans design their own experience, we are able to understand this large palate of design clues to create simple yet effective details and better still, simple yet effective pleasure.