There’s a quote we like from somewhere… probably said over a coffee or in a podcast intro:

“Good design isn’t how it looks. It’s how it works.”

We’d add: it’s also why it works. And more often than not, what it’s helping solve.

The idea that design is decoration is still surprisingly sticky. It’s often treated as the final flourish. The polish. The bit where someone "makes it pop." But the reality is, design earns its value much earlier. In the messy middle. When the brief is still full of questions and when the goals are still being shaped. That’s where design can do its best work.

At Synth, we believe creativity should be functional, strategic and (ideally) a little surprising. Whether it’s shaping a product, untangling a user journey or launching a brand, design is the tool we use to bring clarity to complexity. And when it works, it often feels simple. (Even when it absolutely wasn’t.)

This isn't just a nice philosophy, it’s a practical approach. IDEO call it “creativity in service of problem-solving.” It’s the idea that design thinking, done well, is a method for finding better answers, not just making things look better. As they put it: “It’s not about making things look pretty, it’s about making things work better.” (link)

We’ve seen this play out again and again, especially in UX and UI projects. You can create the cleanest-looking interface in the world, but if it doesn’t help someone achieve what they came to do, it’s missed the mark. If anything, it’s made the experience more frustrating. That’s why good design starts with good questions: What are we trying to help someone do? What’s getting in their way? And how can we remove friction, without removing personality?

A brand or product that feels sharp and well crafted creates confidence and recognition. But beauty alone can’t carry poor function. A confusing checkout flow, an overwhelming homepage or a brand that says everything and nothing, these are the things people remember. Or rather, the things that make people leave.

That’s something we’ve seen across all kinds of work, from designing a range of Human Machine Interface (HMI) systems with Volvo, to helping a healthcare company like Cortec communicate human values through a clinically precise brand. Different challenges, same principle: the best design is rooted in understanding, not decoration.

If you’re a founder, a marketer, a product lead or someone who has a problem they haven’t quite cracked yet, we would encourage you to bring in design at an early stage. It’s not just the final coat of paint, it’s a way to think, to ask better questions and to get closer to the answer. And yes, to make things look great too, but only once they work beautifully.

So yes, design is about how it looks, but it’s more about how it works. And when it works well, it looks even better.