Versatility of Design

An object that can have a wider range of uses, especially potential uses, should be designed to be more versatile than one with fewer uses. It must be so in that it is more able to be changed to suit particular needs.

A house must be much more versatile in design than a car. In the house, you must be able to easily move things around to suit current needs. A house is used for a lot, and those uses can change, requiring a change in layout to better suit them. A car isn’t used for as much, and thus needn’t be as versatile. A car is used for driving primarily, and possibilities for a good setup for that are more narrow than for a house. Things can be improved and tuned for specific needs, but not so much as with a house. In a house, you may need to move a light fixture for better lighting of a certain area if you decide to do something in that area you hadn’t done before, so it is good for this to be easy to do. In a car, the lighting needs that will most likely be realized through use can be thought of beforehand and designed for; it is much less likely to find a task that needs better lighting in a certain area (if the initial design was well thought out).