Minimun Usable Design

I read this great article on Smashing Magazine called "MUD: Minimum Usable Design" by Paul Scrivens.  He shares a working method for design. Many designers, myself included, often find themselves feeling like their design is never quite finished. He shares this quote to describe this dilemma:

 "To walk through the woods, you first need to walk halfway through. Then, once you're in the middle of it, you still need to walk half the of the remaining distance, then half of the distance again, and then another half, and you can never successfully make it through the woods"

I know I've personally felt trapped in this forest, constantly editing details of a design, never quite sure if its finished yet. However, the author twists this idea of "only getting half-way done" to be motivating rather than draining. He shares his theory of Minimum Usable Design: When working on a project, at first only aim to get half-way there. Try to get the project to a point that is 50% usable. This can be achieved by putting the most needful parts in first. In the case of a website, this would be the content. Then you can focus on getting 75% done with the project, adding the next most important piece like logos, etc. And keep going, always aiming for half of what you need to do. Eventually you will get close enough that it will be as good as it is going to get. True, some argue about stopping at just "good enough", but for projects on a deadline this is a great way to work. And, lets face it, no matter long you work on a design, there's always something that needs to be worked on.

I liked this method the author presented. I know from experience, it can be easy to get caught up in little details of projects and spend way too much time on them. This method offers a way to manage time on your project. If you focus on the most important stuff first, then you will be able to spend enough time on them. As you get to less significant details, it won't matter if you start running out of time. Also, it's a great way to break down a huge project into smaller steps. That way it can feel more manageable and easier to achieve.