Arash Ferdowsi Quotes

Design is directed toward human beings. To design is to solve human problems by identifying them and executing the best solution.

Recognizing the need is the primary condition for design.

Design is people.

User-centered design means working with your users all throughout the project.

Knowing how people will use something is essential.

Design is nothing if not decision making.

Reducing a product's definition to a list of features and functions ignores the real opportunity - orchestrating technological capability to serve human needs and goals.

The point is that I don't design stuff for myself. I'm a toolmaker. I design things that other people want to use.

The rise of Google, the rise of Facebook, the rise of Apple, I think are proof that there is a place for computer science as something that solves problems that people face every day.

Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works.

I like tackling problems that I can see making an impact on real people and real businesses immediately.

Most of all, I discovered that in order to succeed with a product you must truly get to know your customers and build something for them.

What I try to do is factor in how people use computers, what people's problems are, and how these technologies can get applied to those problems. Then I try to direct the various product groups to act on this information.

I learned over time that you do not go for the perfect solution….You do what is doable and then you want to try and do a little bit more.

Our principal role as designers is to accelerate new ideas and the adoption of new ideas.

Empathy is key in the design process, especially when you start expanding outside of your comfort zone to new languages, cultures, and age groups. If you try to assume what those people want, you're likely to get it wrong.

It's very difficult to design something for someone if you have no empathy.

My philosophy is, if I can provide a solution that the end user truly enjoys, then I think I have a chance.

Being right is important. Too many great teams march off saying, 'If we build it, they will come,' and then never are able to change the idea towards something that people really want.

You must have the ability to recognize good design and good user experience. These are core things at Airbnb. It doesn't matter which department you're in.

Microsoft wasn't born as an enterprise company. We have always been growing with end users in mind.

It is incredibly powerful if you solve the problem you actually have yourself. It's really tough to develop a good product when you don't have very close proximity to the people who actually use your product. The closest proximity you can have to those people is to be that person.

If a whole bunch of users want a specific feature, and we think that feature is pretty cool, too, that that's just what we'll do.

In general, it's best if you're building something that you yourself need.

You are not designing for yourself, and shouldn't be. Most people using the Web don't understand (most of) what makes it work and don't want to. Design for those people. There are many more of them than you.