The meme that just won't die

By now, we've dispelled the "faster horse" myth once and for all. No longer will we utter this quote, nor will we allow others to do so in our presence, without sharing with them why it's short sighted and wrong. We are also in a better position to correct them because we are thinking with a UX mindset that will guide us to better solutions, right? There is, however, one problem. As I stated earlier, Ford's supposed "faster horse" quote is not the only one of its kind.

Oh no. Here we go again! Let's put a stop to it right now with this: Steve Jobs did not ignore his customers! In fact, Jobs listened intensely to them.

As we mentioned earlier, listening is key, and interpreting what is said is even more important. To put it another way, don't provide your customers with a more comfortable way of standing when sitting is preferred, and don't provide them with a faster horse when an affordable automobile makes more sense. Good design is not about assuming the truth. Good design is about knowing is the truth based on research, testing and more testing to validate your assumptions and then to compare the data. Only then will you prove that your design truly makes a difference.