A while back, while browsing Pinterest, I discovered what appeared to be a dark chocolate layer cake topped with chocolate donut holes. Excited to make this gourmet creation for my son’s birthday, I spent two hours baking and decorating it.
When my daughter walked into the kitchen and saw the finished cake, she burst into laughter. I stood confused until she exclaimed that it looked like “horse poop cake.” What I perceived as an elegant, gourmet dessert, she saw as something entirely different.
Everyone sees things differently — and we should apply that lesson to design.
This is a core truth in design work: what appears beautiful or functional to one person can be perceived completely differently by another. A design that looks sophisticated to the designer might read as cold to the client. A layout that feels clean to one viewer might feel empty to another.
Understanding diverse perspectives is essential for creating effective, relatable design solutions. Always step back and ask: how will someone else see this? The answer might surprise you.
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