Went to go play soccer with engineers, designers and business folks as a team and come back to this...alas I guess you put out positive energy into the universe and it's natural to get negative too...why would you even say 'design is horseshit,' that's totally unproductive, polarizes people, and disrespects a LOT of people... who would post something saying 'engineering is horseshit'? Just doesn't make sense, and I'm an engineer too...why not collaborate and work together? Our disciplines and skills regardless of general titles are just means to hopefully create meaningful impact, drop the ego...of course I agree with you that a product/service that's useful is better than something that just looks like art, duh, so stop firing up an age-old tired conflict, I think we've evolved past bickering and being bullies by now...instead of welcoming peers who can create value with you... you're comments are what keep designers out of working with startups...
Also, we specifically use the word co-founder in the title and say: "Nearly every designer founder has a technical co-founder and some have technical backgrounds which furthers the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration" and we're encouraging more hyper productive designer-hacker dyads...I think the reality is that most of brilliant people here in Silicon Valley are scared to get out of their comfort zone and work on really hard unglamorous problems, especially those of the other %99, because the feedback loops we've created promote the beautiful novelties and vanity consumerism versus sustainable businesses with positive social impact, so again I agree with you...
Highly recommend exploring design ethnography and user research methods that focus on value discovery and value creation eg that's why places like IDEO thrive...
Also do you know we're related through Cookpad? I'm disappointed and surprised by our statements which seem at odds with your company values...
I'm guessing the purpose of the title "Design is horseshit" is to attract attention. It's not much different than saying "co-founders with a background in design create billions worth of value".
If you actually read the article the author basically says "Design enhances value, it does not create it." and there's nothing to argue about that - it's a fact. Another fact is that "programming enhances value, it does not create it".
In other words, the tools you use to create value are secondary to the actual value created. Talking about our tools we use is something we like to do. Too much talk about our tools, and too little thought on the end result, sometimes leads us to think that our tools are most important than the end result
We've been repeatedly explicit about NOT being divisive... you see Larry or Mark or other folks getting celebrated and you don't see the design community getting mad...how many design students even know about Mitch or Chad let alone the general public... Per previous comment http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3358720 we posed a question and again are promoting collaboration and co-creation...
Also, we specifically use the word co-founder in the title and say: "Nearly every designer founder has a technical co-founder and some have technical backgrounds which furthers the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration" and we're encouraging more hyper productive designer-hacker dyads...I think the reality is that most of brilliant people here in Silicon Valley are scared to get out of their comfort zone and work on really hard unglamorous problems, especially those of the other %99, because the feedback loops we've created promote the beautiful novelties and vanity consumerism versus sustainable businesses with positive social impact, so again I agree with you...
"Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works." Did you read previous comment citing Jesse Schell? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3359218 and specific skills we modern designers in tech need http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3358880
Have you read the software design manifesto by Mitch Kapor http://hci.stanford.edu/publications/bds/1-kapor.html
Highly recommend exploring design ethnography and user research methods that focus on value discovery and value creation eg that's why places like IDEO thrive...
Also do you know we're related through Cookpad? I'm disappointed and surprised by our statements which seem at odds with your company values...