Manager Centered Design

Since it’s not always possible for HCI/UX people to own the company, sometimes we need to figure out how to sneak good design by our managers. When that doesn’t work at all, we can end up with “Manager Centered Design.” You know, when that one little thing that your manager wants somehow becomes the basis of the entire design? Something like, say:

• “I like Amazon. Give it tabs like Amazon.”
• “Green and magenta seems about right…”
• “Well it works for Microsoft, so…”
• “Courier is what people know.”

Why do managers design? Because no one can stop them. And while I could spend a couple pages detailing professional ways of handling such situations, I think it’d be a lot more fun to hear other examples of MCD out in the world. What’s the funniest (or most horrendous) design decision your manager has ever made?

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