There's a bit of a conundrum that I deal with occasionally whenever I do things... Do I make it look pretty and sacrifice some of what it's capable of? Or do I make it work, but have something that others would label, at best, looking rough or, at worst, an eyesore? Today, I'll be giving my two cents on the idea.
Before I continue, I should mention that I'll be using content I don't really intend to release into the wild to drive home a point, but if you follow along closely, you shouldn't get too far lost in it.
I believe that form and function have their places, but at the end of the day, I'd prefer function over form, assuming space wasn't at a premium because, simply put, it does more, and it's, in theory at least, more versatile. In my last post, I mentioned that I've been writing stories for a while (though very few have ever seen the light of day due to my general thoughts on them), and one two common places that I generally use are the main character's house/apartment (obviously) and a garage with a loft. To mind, both are designed vastly differently. The house (I'll use that term as that's what I generally use anyway) normally has a minimal/modern furniture set that hides some functionality out of sight until it's needed... assuming it's used, of course. The garage, though, it's a garage. It's function only, despite it being a workplace/short-term housing. The nicest part about it is the loft, and I only say that because there's a couch and TV in its upstairs. The kitchenette actually is mentioned to have an outdoor metal porch table with no two chairs matching each other.
Needless to say, the amount of eyesore only goes up from there, but it's functional, and that's all that really matters in that environment. Now to come out of a story-world that I cobbled together in Grade 7 and kept building on to this day and into the real world.
We're often presented with a form/function compromise that we have to decide which to prioritize more... Do we want it to look good or do we want it to work well? That's the ultimate question whether it be a table or a vehicle. You might be thinking "Well a table is gonna hold stuff and I can go anywhere in my trusty Ford F150." That may be true, but there's still the question of what you're prioritizing. I know that, for me, a Toyota Matrix would be more than adequate for anything I'd have to haul with very few exceptions, but I'm never hauling anything generally, so I could easily do with a Mitsubishi G4 (or a Geo Metro, God forbid). No matter what table I get, it's probably going to hold my small laptop and make a passable excuse for a desk, but form comes into play here as well. The table has to sit tall enough that I can sit at it and get some work done without having to do anything absolutely crazy, but not so tall that I have to stand to use it. Next comes the issue of foot room... sure, I could turn to the side and do that, but at that point, why not just stack a few milk crates and ziptie them, right? Not only would that eat up my foot room altogether, but it would also make moving the contraption rather tedious, if I do say so. Besides, I have to be able to clip or otherwise attach the cables to it (laptop charger, speaker, network), as well as my lamp. Granted, if I put enough thought into it, I could come up with something to alleviate the cable and lighting issues, but at that point, it's more work than necessary... I only need a place where I can sit my laptop down and let it charge while I get some things done, not enter a "Milk Crate Furniture" contest. Be sensible. Anyway, back to the question. To the people who say that form is the priority, they're likely to have a more artistic eye about them.
To sum up this post, I normally find myself on the "Functionality" side of the spectrum. Exactly were I sit, though, that can change depending on the situation. Getting a new car? Well, I don't ever have a lot to carry, so a cutesy little sedan with good fuel economy would be functional enough for me, even though it leans heavily on the "Form" side of the spectrum in most respects. Getting a new laptop or replacing a television? I know what I need it to do and I generally like it to be user-serviceable, so form... pretty much goes out of the picture entirely. Anyone who's seen me go to McDonald's to use their WiFi can attest to this.
At the end of the day, though, your criteria for form and function is probably completely different than mine is, so it's your decision to make. This article was basically some self-analysis and some advice that you can use to aid your own decision-making.
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