How do you quantify good design? What are the parameters, the points of reference? Coming up empty? I did. I think that's part of the reason why we talk about innovation so much. Innovation is big and important and quantifiable: I've never heard of a bad innovation, and the best ones make history. It would seem that it's bullet proof by nature. But the way it's increasingly being used as a poor adjunct or even replacement for the creativity that makes design inherently critical to the development of an idea.

BusinessWeek’s darling of design Bruce Nussbaum (along with many others) helped propel the modern concept of innovation into the spotlight. Positioned as a type of uber-design rooted in business needs, this version of the process would indicate that all great creations are driven by analytics and data points.

FastCompany thinks that’s a load, and reminds us that design is more than just the tangible outcome of analytics and strategy, but the result of a creative process that in some ways can't be quantified (think of the contributions of Apple's Jonathan Ive or former design lead for BMW, Chris Bangle).

Which brings me to the Google part. This week, Doug Bowman left Google as the lead of their visual design discipline in part because of the rigid review process they placed on his teams. Forced to justify every decision, he believes that the engineering logic that made Google king is the very thing that is keeping them from making those tough, daring choices that can make or break a great idea.

Testing 41 different shades of blue for a navigation bar, for instance, is what Google's Marissa Mayer would suggest is the correct way to decide on the "right" design, which seems to miss the point. Great design fulfills emotional needs as well as practical ones: The iPod is not the cheapest device of its kind, and in some cases has similar or subpar features compared to competitors. But when you hold it in your hand or see it on your desk, it stirs something that can't be captured in an Excel chart. Design requires ability, conviction, and a gut instinct to elevate it beyond basic needs into the realm of desire.

PS. Word is, Bowman is going to Twitter. Go figure.

Three notable links for this fourth edition...

Flip for simplicity. Matt at 37signals' Signal vs. Noise shows us the elegantly minimal instruction manual for the Flip video camera (above). He points out that if a product does less, it becomes easier to explain and easier to use, and that serves as a form of advertising unto itself.

Relax, Charmin’s got your back. Charmin cleans up in the "social app to locate clean restrooms" category with Sit Or Squat - available via browser or Blackberry and iPhone apps, augmented by a presence on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and StumbleUpon. Sit Or Squat began as a small blog in 2007, but after some growth and sponsorship help from Charmin, it’s proven itself more useful than locationally-limited apps like Diaroogle (previously on Tribal Drum).

A bicycle built for two thousand. Crowd-sourced singing may not replace American Idol any day soon, but Aaron Koblin and Daniel Massey could be (creepy) contenders someday. Using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk web service, they captured 2,088 voices saying/singing various syllables and stitched it together to sing Daisy Bell.

* Thanks to Brett Eveleth for his contributions (first and third items above) to this edition of Linkage.

According to a Chicago Tribune article, the Federal Trade Commission wants to change the rules for endorsements in advertising. From the article:

Of course, this is significant news for advertisers - especially those who rely on atypical results to attract consumers to their products and services. A post about the Trib article on Consumerist suggests that Subway spokesman Jared Fogle (pictured) may soon be out of a job due to the proposed FTC rule. That's potentially bad news for Jared, but the demand for transparency from marketers is good news for consumers.

Image: AP photo by Ivan Chavez, August 7, 2001 - via Chicago Tribune.

Keynote starting at 9:00 am pacific with Bill Buxton and Scott Guthrie. Anticipating much discussion on Silverlight 3 -- beta tools are already available for download:

• Silverlight 3 Beta SDK: http://tinyurl.com/crfogs
• Silverlight 3 Tools for Visual Studio: http://tinyurl.com/d7q4v9
• Expression Blend Preview for Silverlight 3: http://tinyurl.com/ckapmy (Link not yet active)

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