Virginia Postrel's The Substance of Style is an essential book. I read it a few months ago, but it's stuck with me and is due for a re-read. (But I lost my hardback copy--how'd that happen? When's the last time you lost a book?) Postrel asserts that a lack of style and insufficient attention to aesthetics are fatal mistakes, a warning that can be applied equally to physical products, websites and software, and personal experiences.
The quality revolution of the past few decades has led us to expect well-made products at reasonable prices. (That's not to say shoddy products don't exist, but they're generally disposable, in one way or another.) Competing on price or quality isn't enough anymore. We demand goods and experiences that satisfy our aesthetic desires.
This is great for people like me who care deeply about how things look and how they're designed, and who believe that style is deeply intertwined with both usefulness and value. This is bad for people who view style as something superficial, mere eye candy.
Don't mistake me--I'm not championing style over substance. I'm saying--and Postrel's saying--that substance without style is an anachronism, a doomed approach. People--rightly--expect both.
