socialmedian: Why I Quit Google

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Why I Quit Google

Source: Silicon Alley Insider

Mar 21, 2009

Summary

Google's top designer Doug Bouwman quit the company to join Twitter. Mostly, Doug didn't like how much Google depends on data to make design decisions. He's written a blog post to explain more fully. It's not "sugarcoated," as they say:

When I joined Google as its first visual designer, the company was already seven years old. Seven years is a long time to run a company without a classically trained designer. Google had plenty of designers on staff then, but most of them had backgrounds in CS or HCI. And none of them were in high-up, respected leadership positions. Without a person at (or near) the helm who thoroughly understands the principles and elements of Design, a company eventually runs out of reasons for design decisions. With every new design decision, critics cry foul. Without conviction, doubt creeps in. Instincts fail. “Is this the right move?” When a company is filled with engineers, it turns to engineering to solve problems. Reduce each decision to a simple logic problem. Remove all subjectivity and just look at the data. Data in your favor? Ok,

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