Quality is found on Summits
2024, 2 min read
A thought I had on the topic of quality vs. time spent
Effort ≠ Quality
As a design student I got frustrated when somebody got a better mark than me, if I knew they spent less time on it. But that's not how creating works.
More effort doesn't guarantee a better outcome ... even though exceptional quality exceptional effort demands.
Quality's Uncanny Valley
At every "effort stage" there is a summit where people perceive something as of high quality. People call this great art direction, style, graphics and many more things depending on the domain.
If you don't hit this summit it will be perceived as off-putting. One might say it lacks polish. A lot of Hollywood CGI↗ falls into this category. Like an Uncanny Valley but for quality.
This principle of quality summits applies to other creative domains like architecture, animation or illustration as well.
For example a sketch by a skillfuled artist can be perceived as better than an oil painting by a mediocre one.
The Right Choice
I think being aware of the constraints (e.g. time or budget) and choosing the right summit is important. The audience cares about the final outcome, not the amount of effort you put in.
Don't shoot for the moon and land among the starts – choose the right summit and make sure you get there. It's mountaineering; not long jumping.
