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What does it mean to be distinctive? Why does it matter? (Or does it matter?)?
Designers — all of us who make things that are intended for use —wrestle with this all the time.
Does it matter that what we create stands out, is unique, or is notable? The answer is — as with many things in life — it depends. This week, we’re looking at the role of distinction in design and why it does (and doesn’t) matter and how to create something that people remember.
A Distinctive Definition
The Oxford English Dictionary defines distinction as:
noun. a difference or contrast between similar things or people.
In design terms, this means creating variations on and improvements to an existing idea. Please take a look at our previous issue on the SCAMPER technique for examples of how this is framed as a point for innovation.
Another feature of distinction is being notable. That means people are paying attention to this difference and remembering it. In an age of attention poverty, that’s an increasingly big ask.
But why should it matter for health promotion and services? Why would our evaluations or social impact plans need to be remembered?
In some cases — particularly in health promotion, recovery, and treatment — attention and memory are critical to success. For example, someone recovering from a cardiac arrest might need to change their diet to improve their chances of preventing relapse. Or a lifetime cigarette user might need to know what they can do to quit once diagnosed with cancer to improve the likelihood of treatment success or survival.
In these cases, standing out matters.
Designing for Distinction
Most healthcare innovations die quietly. Not because they don’t work, but because nobody remembers them long enough to use them.
Think about the last five quality improvement initiatives in your workplace. Can you name them? Now, think about the one project everyone still talks about three years later. That’s distinction. And it’s not an accident.
Why Distinction Matters More Than Excellence
Here’s an uncomfortable truth about health systems design: a distinctive design that’s 80% excellent will spread faster than a superb design that’s entirely forgettable. This isn’t about dumbing things down or adding unnecessary flash. It’s about recognizing that in complex environments like healthcare, adoption depends on attention, memory, and motivation—none of which you get by being the fifth-best version of something people already ignore.
Distinction is strategic. It’s about solving problems in ways that make people stop and think “why didn’t anyone do this before?”
One example is Open Notes. Open Notes—the practice of letting patients read their clinical notes—wasn’t a new technology. It was a new approach to existing information. The distinctiveness came from making the invisible visible, from shifting power dynamics through transparency rather than adding features.
This also has the added benefit of enabling a shared understanding of what is recorded and used to make decisions. Imagine the potential of turning everyday reflections on a clinical encounter into a way patients could share them — and even add to them?
Making Your Work Memorable
Distinction lives at the intersection of surprise and sense-making. Too much surprise, and people reject it as gimmicky. Too much sense-making and it can disappear into “best practice,” as people overthink what’s being proposed.
Three practical tests for distinctive design:
The “of course” test - When you explain it, do people say “of course!” (meaning it suddenly seems obvious, even though nobody did it before)
The story test - Can someone accurately retell your approach to a colleague in 30 seconds? Distinctive designs are inherently story-worthy.
The opposite test - What’s the conventional approach? Are you doing something meaningfully different, or just marginally better?
Consider the SCAMPER technique as part of your strategy to find something that helps you stand out. Ask yourself: what are some memorable services and products that you’ve encountered in your life, no matter what field or area of interest? What made it memorable? What lessons could you learn from it?
A Caution About Distinction
Distinctive doesn’t mean attention-seeking. Healthcare has plenty of flashy initiatives that made noise but solved nothing. Real distinction comes from rethinking the problem, not decorating the solution.
The goal isn’t to be different. It’s to be different in ways that actually matter to the people you’re designing for—different enough that they notice, remember, and choose to engage. Or, different enough so that a problem or issue that was front and centre in an encounter is invisible. Sometimes, memorable is about the experience, not the reason for it.
Because in the end, the best design that nobody adopts is just an expensive proof of concept. Distinction is what turns good ideas into actual change.
I’ll be doing some workshops in the new year to explore this in greater detail. Stay tuned for more announcements and follow along in the chat if you’re interested in registering.
Thanks for reading.
References: OpenNotes
Primary sources:
Delbanco, T., Walker, J., Bell, S. K., et al. (2012). Inviting patients to read their doctors’ notes: a quasi-experimental study and a look ahead. Annals of Internal Medicine, 157(7), 461-470.
Walker, J., Leveille, S. G., Ngo, L., et al. (2019). OpenNotes After 7 Years: Patient Experiences With Ongoing Access to Their Clinicians’ Outpatient Visit Notes. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(5). Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6526690/
For paid subscribers, read on for three case studies looking at how distinctiveness has been designed to address different aspects of healthcare, including a deeper dive into Open Notes.