Designing for Clarity: An Interview with Lars, Glint Solar's Head of Design
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February 27, 2023
Lars, Glint Solar's Head of Design, tells us about his approach to design, some guiding principles, and his vision for our solar software, Glint Ground.
Updated February 2023
Glint Solar's Head of Design, Lars, has been awarded the DOGA Award for Design and Architecture in Norway. This award recognizes Lars' achievements with his team at his former workplace, and we couldn't be prouder of him! We sat down with him to talk about his approach to design, some guiding principles, and his vision for our solar software, Glint Ground.
Want to design for clean energy? Apply here!
Lars brings years of design experience to Glint Solar. Most recently he worked at Fiken AS, where he strived to make accounting easily understandable and user-friendly for everyone. At times, that meant embracing complexity and working instead to make the complexity digestible – and even engaging where possible. One of his design principles helped him achieve this:
“Not everything can be simple, but everything can be clear.”
This principle has proved invaluable for his work at Glint Solar, where he is leading the design efforts to digitize the process and tools used in solar development.
Designing for Solar
We’re convinced that part of the solution to the challenges we are facing lies in making it fast and easy for solar developers and engineers to identify and analyze potential solar sites on a daily basis. At Glint Solar, Lars is working on our shared goal of accelerating the adoption of solar energy across the globe by enabling developers to build their greenfield project pipelines quicker with Glint Ground. This is no easy feat, but with Lars leading the design, we are confident that our software will continue to be user-friendly, enjoyable and accessible to everyone.
– Approach: How do you balance the need for clarity in the user interface with the increasing amount of functionality and complexity in applications like Glint Ground?
If I had some sort of formula or blueprint I would be delighted to share it with the world, but in short: this is the job. This is what designers do – balancing needs. It is done, in my experience, with small, concerted efforts every day. Today we solve a small problem. I wonder how it will effect the rest of the application. We’re stumped? We’ll try again tomorrow. This may sound a bit simplistic and naive, but at its core, this is how I go about it. Stone by stone. It helps (a lot) to have a vision, or at least an idea, of where you want to end up, of course. But sometimes design feels like familiarizing yourself with the maze first before trying to run it on record time. And sometimes you run straight into a wall. That’s ok, too. I won’t hit that wall next time.
– Vision: What are the things that are most important to you when designing Glint Ground?
I could go on about tying all the facets, priorities and goals of a company together, but in short: To let our users complete their task in a timely and valuable manner and maybe, just maybe, with a “huh, that was kinda easy”-half-smile on their face. There are of course a whole bunch of things that go into achieving this. And this is, at best, a partial answer, but I’m fairly certain that clarity, balance, a sense of rhythm, succinct language, familiar patterns, and good feedback play a part. You can obviously find literal lists of the building blocks of a good UI and a user friendly application in books and online, but these are the ones that keep repeating in my head.
– Guiding Principles: What are some of the key design principles that guide your work?
“Not everything can be simple, but everything can be clear”
That means that I don’t necessarily agree with those who say design and UIs have to be simple and even minimalistic at all costs. Sometimes, the matter is hard and that’s ok. It’s better, then, to design for clarity and understanding in chunks. People are smart. If you’re upfront and honest with them, and give them a clear path with clear signposts, they can usually find their way.
“The right information at the right time”
I’m paraphrasing (I think) Massimo Vignelli here, but it ties into the previous principle. The amount of information you need to convey to the user can sometimes be overwhelming, but if you present the right amount and the right part at the right time – you are most likely good. I find a lot of inspiration in Vignelli’s design of the New York Subway map. Another huge source of inspiration (perhaps my biggest) who understood clarity: Otl Aicher.
“Incubation”
I studied writing and creative process for a while, and the brain’s need for incubation and rest in order to perform resonated with me. Stuck looking at your sketches and nothing works? Incubation. Can’t solve a problem? Incubation. Tired and can’t seem to focus? Incubation. “I’m not a good designer”. Incubation. Feel like pieces are falling into place but unsure if it’s the right solution? Incubation. I’m conflating rest and letting ideas and problems simmer here, but they’re closely related.
Read more about Lars and his design work at Glint Solar here.
We are looking for a Product Designer!
We are a cheerful team of people with different backgrounds, likings and personalities who share the common goal of making a positive difference in the world.
– Can you tell us what qualities you think are most important in a Product Designer, and how you evaluate those qualities in potential candidates?
Yes, I can: Designers, you are doing great. You are probably a better designer than you think you are. It’s ok if you can’t name all the methods and theories you leaned on when you designed that thing.
It’s more important to be a nice person with an interest in solving problems, than having the right education or advanced enough design skills. Human being first, designer second. If you’ve helped make a digital product, made some mistakes, learned some things, and really want to make more digital products, then you are what we are looking for. Whether you have made a lot of digital products over several years and have a strong vision for product design, or you’ve just made a few and feel like “yes, this is what I want to do” – we want to talk to you! And I mean that – we don’t interview you, we talk to you.
Are you ready to start designing for the Green Shift and speed up renewable energy adoption? Don’t wait, apply here!
For more information about working at Glint Solar, you can have a look at our careers page.
Magdalena