Thoughts on “That’s interesting”

How many times have you heard that phrase? What does it mean, “interesting?”

I never thought about it until I heard Mateo Kries’s description of Dieter Rams:

He’s (Dieter Rams) very clear about the people he likes. He’s also from that generation where designers dared to say, “This, in my opinion, is bad design.”

Today you would more often hear, “This is interesting,” you know? And you never know what does that mean, “interesting?” Yes, of course, I think the whole world is interesting.

—Mateo Kries, Director, Vitra Design Museum, in Rams (2018)

Instead of blurting out “that’s interesting” next time: try, to figure out why do you find that interesting? Is it because, it is technically better, it is beautiful, it is doing something in a clever way, it is thought provoking, or of some other reason? Once you form the reason in words, say that. It’s meaningful to state the reason instead of a hollow “that’s interesting.”