Should I stay or should I go.

In defence of 'trade offs' in design.

A very detailed design takes longer to achieve, is more focussed and less flexible. This means that you have to go the edge in terms of design detail. If you are going that far, you'd better make sure that it is for a good reason and that you picked the right story.

The other option is to keep it simple, therefore making it more flexible. The risk here is that your design can be easily replicated by someone else so you cannot take your time in crafting the right story.

As a result your designs become less interesting and more accessible. Designs for general uses are very common these days so there is less need for them today.

What we need now is design for the niches, for people who don't get exactly what they need from the all encompassing designs. We need designs for the weird.