Reflections on Design in the Current Context

At Plastic, we have been designing high-level digital solutions and brands since 2012. We have witnessed firsthand the evolution of our sector, the changes in trends and needs, the emergence of new profiles, tools, and methodologies... an exciting evolution that helps us better understand our environment, optimize processes, and improve the results of our work.

Over the past year, through interactions with clients from various sectors and sizes, and more than 30 team leaders in areas such as Marketing, Product, Business, and Design, we have observed a growing need and a recurring concern that has caught our attention.

“We need more
creative proposals.”

Marketing Director of an international company

Almost unanimously, clients highlight the lack of personalized, differentiated proposals, and in many cases, the lack of creative solutions.

This has been the starting point for a deep reflection on the current state of design and how we, as specialists, can bring our strategic vision to continue helping various entities through design.

“We have focused a lot on methodologies and UX, but we need to start thinking more about the visual aspect. We have neglected it, and it is affecting us.”

Marketing Director of an international company

In recent years, technology has played a crucial role in making our processes more efficient. We have continuously tested, iterated, and improved our designs to optimize their effectiveness. And now AI is not only making us more efficient, but it can also even replace creativity with the click of a button. Fascinating.

It's great, if something works, I can use it in all future projects. After collecting a multitude of data, reviewing the precise recommendations given by industry experts, using Google's Material Design, the same style of icons, graphics, illustrations... one can follow an online recipe. A "right way" to do things.

Eureka, we would already have the solution to all our challenges!

If we all use the same methodologies, the same tools, have the same data, we will therefore reach the same conclusions and generate homogeneous systems.

“We want to see something
that speaks about us,
something that sets us apart.”

Marketing Director of an international company

What is the difference between the products we consume today? What unique and singular value does the interaction with a product or service convey to the consumer?

The quest to cater to the masses often generates homogenized production, where originality and uniqueness are sacrificed in favor of certain short-term data, but does it really satisfy our users? Are we really listening to them? Are we neglecting the emotional connection that users seek?

Perhaps this trajectory towards numbers, data, methods, and technology above all else is hindering our connection with people, the pursuit of excellence, and stifling our creative capacity.

Marketers have known for a long time that purchasing decisions are based much more on unconscious motives than on logical reasoning. They also know that emotion is the most solid, profound, and lasting way we have to reach the hearts of our customers and users.

We know that brands that evoke strong emotions have a much more effective and strategic impact than those that simply focus on optimizing functionalities.

“We have acceptable products, but there is a lot of room for improvement.”

Marketing Director of an international company

Have we disconnected from people and their emotions? Ultimately, from our users. Have we disconnected from the most qualitative and emotional part of what we do?

Yes to data.
Yes to methodologies.
Yes to everything we have learned over the years, and to everything we have available to make better products.

But without forgetting that... design is essentially a creative process, a form of human connection.

We advocate for balancing the technical-scientific and emotional aspects of design to reach its full potential. We believe that balance can help us move from creating correct products to creating products with soul, personalized, with a strong human connection, that remain in memory and fulfill a growing need among clients and users.