The Walmart Syndrome

Discussing the perils of design becoming a mass produced commodity where price is the only driving factor.

A few decades or maybe centuries ago, most production fields were ruled by highly skilled craftsmen, true innovators that constantly tried to push the boundaries of their professions. Their talent, whether it was carpentry, boat building, or tapestry, was placed at high value and those with the necessary means would go to the ends of the world to be able to hire that particular professional who would be regarded as the absolute best at that time. Most often than not their work would attract the highest of praises and even survive the test of time to be studied and looked up to as a reference point for generations to come. Such great innovations and exquisite works that transcended their practical nature and could almost be interpreted as art, all had one important thing in common: each served an unique purpose, each was tailored to an unique set of problems and, in doing so, proposed new and innovative solutions.

As time passed, social and economic constraints slowly lead to the emergence and proliferation of mass production. The time and cost associated with the production process plummeted, but so did the amount of thought and effort put into each product. In this new context, generation after generation, the craftsmen from before slowly began losing their hard earned status, being forced into all but extinction, their innovative ways discredited.

In a mass produced world everything looks and performs the same. There are generic solutions trying to solve an infinite number of particular problems. Cheaper? Absolutely. Perfect? No way!

Instead of every house being completely personalized to fit its owner's needs and likes, in ways that maybe he didn't even think about, they are all now the same cookie-cutter plans, with the same finishes and the same general layout. Instead of every piece of clothing specially tailored and designed to perfectly fit and match the owner's personality, we are all force-fed the same generic ones, as they are dreamt up by someone who doesn't even know us, based solely on their potential profit margins.

Mass production by itself is certainly not a bad thing. It is actually one of the cornerstones of our development. However, as with most things in life, too much of it can become damaging. When the bottom line becomes the only driving factor and things like quality and customer service are knowingly ignored, it can become a bad thing. When the lowest bidder always gets the contract, the results are a consistent recipe for disaster.

I like to call this “The Walmart Syndrome”. Everything around us lately seems to be made in China, it usually tends to break a lot, and often lacks some of the basic functions one would expect from that particular item. If it does serve its purposes, it is oftentimes not extremely intuitive or easy to use. It would be nice to still have the option in this new world to hire one of those craftsmen from centuries ago, just to even things out from time to time. It would be, but there are none left.

How does all of this relate to the design world then? Design, like most other professions, used to have its world-renowned craftsmen. Their voices, however, are being slowly muted, their status diminished and lost day by day in an ever-growing market that starts to look more and more like mass production. I do believe history is repeating itself, only at a much more accelerated pace, as we live in a more hectic world today.

The proliferation of personal computers, easy access to software and information, made entering the design field extremely easy. Lack of general education and professional status made differentiating between a beginner and an experienced designer not always easy for the untrained eye. All of this, combined with an ever-growing market slowly pushed design into becoming a mass produced commodity where price seems to be the main factor. Just like before, quality and innovation are being forced to accept a secondary role. If history taught us anything, these traits will be dearly missed in a near future.

The signs are everywhere. All we see lately in terms of resources for designers are never ending lists of this and that - quantity over quality -, readymade templates for every imaginable component, crowdsourcing, and so on. The focus has shifted from innovating to producing, no matter the consequences. Proper planning and innovation are being replaced by the chase of getting instant results no matter the means, even if that means poor results.

Whether we like it or not, the Walmart syndrome is starting to affect the design world as well and it is only up to us, the designers, to try and slow it down by promoting proper values and educating our clients. Be an innovator, not a Xerox machine. Otherwise we will be heading into a world of poor, boring, made in China design, and decades from now someone will be wondering what happened to the true innovators.