I came, I looked, I judged: I misunderstood.

Ben Sauer’s article is the first time I’ve heard about “Chesterton’s Law”:

“reforms should not be made until the reasoning behind the existing state of affairs is understood.”

The article aims to be a reminder that judging design from the outside is essentially impossible, due to the lack of inside knowledge on the process, decisions and compromises made, etc.

I wish we could all be a little more forgiving while we’re being constructively critical. Because we don’t know what went into a design we’re looking at. We’re not party to the blood, sweat, and tears, the trade-offs, or the important things that we’ve all forgotten sometimes.

And most importantly, that design is about much more than the outer appearance (by means of a Steve Jobs quote).