SaaA - Software as an Artform

There's always been a part of me which has been interested in Graphics, Typography, Site design; generally computery things which appeal to the eye. Indeed, when I began study towards my degree, I chose to Major in Computer Visualisation. It was a close call between going down the Arts and design route, or staying geeky and cutting code. I chose the latter in the end but maybe not for long; in practice at least.

It is interesting then, that over time, software development, or a significant proportion thereof, is now undertaken using similar principles to those adopted by the graphic design industry.

A design agency will often conduct initial consultation, understand something about the business and who the design work is to appeal to, before undertaking several drafts, each of which are presented back to the customer to approve/disprove of. Thereon, iteratively, the designer will develop the design in collaboration with the customer to reach the desired end goal.

With the increase in agile development, this move towards close collaboration with the customer, iterative delivery of, what will evolve to be the end product; clear parallels can be drawn between the two. Indeed, it is certainly true for web applications; Design REALLY matters. No wonder then, that the way we build software and the way we design our interactions with it, come closer together. With the role of design becoming more important then, this opens the question, what is the next step for software development? Gui tools and MDA's successor? Hope not!