There’s been some debate recently (and not so recently) about whether unsolicited redesigns are Good or Bad, prompted by an unsolicited redesign of Instapaper (which is, in my humble opinion, perhaps the best designed app I’ve ever used).
I think unsolicited redesigns are generally a bad idea. That said, I think there’s a little nuance to get straight:
- Unsolicited redesigns are by definition uninformed; any designer attempting an unsolicited redesign is on thin ice and at risk of having their design process called into question.
- However, unsolicited redesigns may be an appropriate way to point out severe and fundamental UX problems, when an uninformed opinion is needed to point out something truly awful about an interface. Airline websites are the classic example and are, perhaps, good candidates for an unsolicited redesign (although Justin Curtis’s infamous AA.com redesign might not be the best way to do it).
Basically, an unsolicited redesign is a sort of nuclear option for a designer. It should only be used when the need is most extreme and you’ve exhausted all other ways of making your point.
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