“An experienced designer knows that humans do not operate solely on reason and logic. They’re heavily influenced by emotions and perceptions. But it’s not just empathy that data lacks. The one indisputable advantage humans have over data is imagination. The ability to step outside of what you’ve seen and consider how something that doesn’t exist yet may yet exist is at the center of everything we do. Imagination is what allows us to consider if we should try to gather a different kind of data.”
Good analysis on the recent experience of Doug Bowman at Google, where many design decisions are decided by factual data.
