The design industry is being pulled between two opposing forces: design quality and measurable design.

On one side lies the pursuit of craft, aesthetics, and the subtle nuances that define exceptional digital design quality. On the other side, we have measurable design — designs evaluated based on data, metrics, and user engagement that can be quantified and optimized.

The growing focus on measurable outcomes leaves me wondering if the industry is losing its commitment to quality in favor of the efficiency and predictability metrics provide.

In this blog post, I explore the positive tension between these two forces, weigh their pros and cons, and argue that the future of design is a balance of quality and measurability.

What Is Design Quality?

Design quality refers to the often intangible characteristics that make a product or experience exceptional. It encompasses aesthetic beauty, functional elegance, emotional resonance, and ease of use.

High-quality design isn’t just about how something looks — it’s about how it works, feels, and enhances the user’s experience.

Key elements of design quality include:

• Craft: The attention to detail in how a digital product is designed and constructed.
• Aesthetic value: Beauty, visual harmony, and a distinct style that enhances the user experience.
• User experience (UX): How intuitively and efficiently a design meets the user’s needs.
• Emotional connection: The way a design resonates with its audience, creating lasting, memorable impressions.

Design quality is often subject to intense evaluation. Its impact can be felt — whether through a sense of joy using a well-designed app or admiration for the cadence of a customer onboarding experience — but not always easily measured.

What Is Measurable Design?

Measurable design focuses on aspects of design that can be quantified and optimized.

Given the continued need for analytics, A/B testing, and user feedback loops, designers today have access to more data than ever to inform their decisions. Measurable design emphasizes metrics such as:

• Conversion rates: How many users take desired actions (e.g., signing up, purchasing).
• Engagement levels: How long users interact with a product or feature.
• Task completion times: How efficiently users accomplish their goals.
• User satisfaction scores: Often collected through surveys or usability tests.

Measurable design enables data-driven decision-making, helping designers make informed choices based on real-world user behavior. Tracking and analyzing design performance allows companies to quickly iterate and improve products, with clear metrics to gauge success.

The Trade-Offs: Quality vs. Measurability

While design quality and measurable design have merits, they’re often at odds.

Prioritizing measurable design can lead to incremental changes that boost short-term metrics but overlook the long-term value that high-quality, innovative design brings.

Conversely, focusing on design quality while disregarding measurable outcomes can result in aesthetically beautiful layouts or high-quality digital products that delight the design community but don’t meet user needs or business goals.

1. The Risk of Overoptimization

Focusing too heavily on measurable design risks overoptimization.

When clients, product managers, and designers fixate on metrics like conversion rates or click-through rates, they may be tempted to optimize every design aspect toward those numbers.

This can lead to the use of techniques like dark patterns, aggressive pop-ups, or distracting visuals designed to grab attention rather than serve the user’s needs.

2. Subjectivity of Design Quality

The subjectivity of design quality also poses challenges.

What one designer or user sees as a high-quality design may not resonate with others. Relying too heavily on subjective judgments without data to back them up can lead to misguided design decisions that fail to solve user problems or meet business objectives.

The Value of Design Quality

Despite the growing emphasis on measurable design, design quality remains essential to creating meaningful, lasting products.

Exceptional design quality yields:

• Brand loyalty: High-quality design creates strong emotional connections with users. Consider how Apple’s meticulous attention to design detail has created a dedicated customer base.
• Differentiation: Digital products that stand out because of their craftsmanship, aesthetic appeal, or innovative approach are more likely to capture attention and create memorable experiences. Humane’s Ai Pin launched with both excitement and skepticism due to its innovative features and unique challenges. However, in striving to redefine how we interact with technology, it faced privacy, usability, and cost hurdles.
• Emotional impact: Designs that resonate emotionally lead to user satisfaction beyond the metrics, resulting in products that are not only functional, but delightful. NFT (Non-Fungible Token) art drop projects have leaned heavily into the emotional and cultural value of owning unique digital art, but some of these NFTs provide little practical value beyond speculative investment or digital status symbols.

However, these outcomes are often difficult to measure. They lead some organizations to de-prioritize design quality in favor of immediate, quantifiable wins.

Market conditions drive this shift. Clients are cautious and uncertain about the long-term economic impact of COVID and rising inflation rates, leading to a cut in initiatives, less demand for consultancy services, shorter projects, and reduced discretionary spending.

Clients are also cautious with talent. They need less capacity and find hiring skilled people in-house easier as senior professionals leave consulting. Clients are also shifting away from generalists as projects demand specific expertise.

The Power of Measurable Design

Measurable design is critical in ensuring a product works well for its users. By gathering data and analyzing metrics, design teams can make informed decisions based on actual user behavior rather than assumptions or opinions.

The advantages of measurable design include:

• Iterative improvement: Designers can quickly test and refine new ideas based on user feedback.
• Alignment with business goals: Companies ensure design investments drive tangible results by tying design decisions to specific metrics, such as revenue or engagement.
• User-centered approach: Data from usability tests, surveys, and analytics ensure that design decisions are rooted in real user needs, leading to better user experiences.

However, focusing solely on measurable outcomes can lead to losing creativity, originality, and craft in digital design.

How Do We Strike the Balance?

The best approach to design isn’t choosing one side over the other. It’s finding a balance between design quality and measurability.

The goal is to create designs that perform well according to metrics and inspire and delight users in ways that can’t always be measured. Here’s how to do so:

1. Incorporate Data Without Overoptimizing

Data must inform design decisions, but it can’t dictate every move.

Using metrics as guidelines, not strict rules, is important, as it allows for creative exploration and risk-taking. Designers can still prioritize innovation and craftsmanship while using data to ensure their work meets user needs.

2. Measure What Matters

Not all metrics are created equal.

While conversion rates and engagement are easy to track, they may not always capture the full picture of user satisfaction or long-term product success. Prioritize meaningful metrics — such as user retention, brand affinity, or overall satisfaction — over superficial gains like click-through rates.

3. Recognize the Long-Term Value of Quality

Investing in design quality might not always yield immediate, measurable results, but it does create long-term value for users and businesses.

Companies that prioritize thoughtful, well-crafted designs are more likely to build lasting relationships with their users and enjoy sustained growth over time.

Final Thoughts

The debate between design quality and measurable design reflects a broader tension in the design industry between the art and science of design.

While data-driven approaches are invaluable in refining products and ensuring alignment with user needs, design quality creates meaningful, engaging experiences that resonate deeply.

Ultimately, both design quality and measurable design are critical to success. The challenge is integrating both approaches, allowing designers to leverage the power of data while still championing the craft and creativity that make exceptional digital design stand out. By doing so, the design industry can push boundaries, innovate, and create functional and beautiful experiences.