Data-Based Design: Ignore at Your Own Peril

There's always been tension between data folks and their design brethren. Perhaps the most famous example in recent memory took place at Google in 2009. Designer Douglas Bowman resigned his position at the company over its over-reliance on data. In his words:

Yes, it’s true that a team at Google couldn’t decide between two blues, so they’re testing 41 shades between each blue to see which one performs better. I had a recent debate over whether a border should be 3, 4 or 5 pixels wide, and was asked to prove my case. I can’t operate in an environment like that. I’ve grown tired of debating such minuscule design decisions. There are more exciting design problems in this world to tackle.