Design, as defined by Richard Seymour:
“making things better for people”
–but is that too broad? mailmen and sanitation workers make things better for people…
design, from London’s Design Council:
design as translation: “an activity that translates an idea into a blueprint for something useful”
–ah, that word ‘utility’…
design, according to the Danish Design Centre:
“design = aesthetics + added value”
–interesting that the DDC views design as a ‘result of deliberate and creative work on an idea, a problem or a desire for change’ — do they see design as an end product, instead of a process?
design, as grudgingly defined by John Heskett:
‘the human capacity to shape and make our environment in ways without precedent in nature, to serve our needs and give meaning to our lives’
Despite its growing importance in today’s world, design continues to be misunderstood. When we hear the word “design”, many of us still think about the shape and color of objects, or flashy aesthetics, or items of luxury. But this view diminishes the importance of design and is just plain wrong. True, style is the most recognizable part of a design, with the substance of it often hidden away as a more intangible asset. But it’s really only a matter of perception.
Aesthetics are just the surface of a very layered process; they are the visible synthesis of a complex study that includes: research, vision, planning, problem solving, ergonomics, lifestyle, culture, technology, psychology, and sometimes, even sociology.
The point is: design has a higher purpose that goes well beyond creating something that is pretty to look at. When it comes to interiors, for example, design is about adapting the environment to our functional, emotional, psychological, and social needs. It is what contributes to making our living spaces more enjoyable, to creating atmospheres that give us energy and make us feel good while simplifying our lives…even if we can’t quite figure out why and how. Design can help us come together; as a family, as a group, as a community, as a society. In doing so, it enhances thesignificance of a place, or even an object.
At its highest level, design seems to be something that can only be practiced by few, with the rest of us left to experience and enjoy it, but not contribute to it. Yet, at its core, design is something that any of us can do because, when stripped to its essence, design is about adopting a holistic mentality and applying it to our lives. It’s about figuring out how disparate things can be brought together in new ways; it’s the ability to think about creative, unexpected solutions to our problems, in order to continue improving the quality of our lives, in every aspect. When we look at it this way, says Frank Nuovo, one of the world’s leading industrial designers, “design is something that everyone does every day”.
So, if we want to make our lives better, we should look to design for inspiration and believe we can all be problem-solvers and agents of change by using a design approach to everyday matters.
What is Design?
Design as a Shared Activity
The nature of design is equally as complex as that of technology. Archer wrote that:
“Design is that area of human experience, skill and knowledge which is concerned with man’s ability to mould his environment to suit his material and spiritual needs.” 1
Design is essentially a rational, logical, sequential process intended to solve problems or, as Jones put it:
“initiate change in man-made things” 2
For the term “design process,” we can also read “problem-solving process”, which in all but its abstract forms works by consultation and consensus. The process begins with the identification and analysis of a problem or need and proceeds through a structured sequence in which information is researched and ideas explored and evaluated until the optimum solution to the problem or need is devised.
Yet, design has not always been a rational process; up until the Great War design was often a chaotic affair in that consultation and consensus were barely evident. Design was not a total process. The work of participants in the process was often compartmentalised, each having little if any input in matters which fell outside the boundaries of their specific expertise. Thus, participants explored their ideas unilaterally, with one or another participant, through virtue of their “expertise”, imposing constraints upon all others. In this way, the craftsman has a veto on matters to do with skill or availability of materials, the engineer had a veto on technological considerations, and the patron alone could impose considerations of taste and finance.
During the inter-war years the Bauhaus movement attempted to knit the design process into a coherent whole in that students were encouraged to study design in a way that was both total and detailed. That is, designers were expected to balance all the considerations that came to bear upon the design of particular artefacts, systems and environments. In this way, though, design quickly evolved into a closed activity - an activity in which all but the designers themselves has little if any valid input to make on questions of materials, taste . . . and so on. Designers came to exist within a social bubble, consulting no-one but other designers. The result was that many designs conceived particularly during the immediate post-Second World War period did little to satisfy the needs of users. Such designs were exemplified by the disastrous housing policies adopted by many local authorities in the UK who built residential tower block after residential tower block. These were essentially realisations of dreamy design concepts rather than solutions to the social, cultural and environmental needs of the local populations.
Recent years have marked a sharp reaction against the design movement, which has perhaps been personified by Prince Charles and has crusade against architectural “carbuncles”. Likewise, individuals within society have sought to express their own tastes, their own individuality, personal style and personal self-image through what they use and purchase. Thus it is that design is not an activity solely for engineers and designers but is a shared activity between those who design artefacts, systems and environments, those who make them and those who use them.
Design is everywhere - and that's why looking for a definition may
not help you grasp what it is.
Design is everywhere. It's what drew you to the last piece of
furniture you bought and it's what made online banking possible.
It's made London taxi cabs easier to get in and out of and it made
Stella McCartney's name. It's driving whole business cultures and
making sure environments from hospitals to airports are easier to
navigate.
The single word 'design' encompasses an awful lot, and that's why
the understandable search for a single definition leads to lengthy
debate to say the least.
There are broad definitions and specific ones - both have
drawbacks. Either they're too general to be meaningful or they
exclude too much.
One definition, aired by designer Richard Seymour during the
Design Council's Design in Business Week 2002, is 'making things
better for people'. It emphasises that design activity is focused first
and foremost on human behaviour and quality of life, not factors
like distributor preferences. But nurses or road sweepers could say
they, too, 'make things better for people'.
Meanwhile, a definition focused on products or 3D realisations of
ideas excludes the work of graphic designers, service designers
and many other disciplines. There may be no absolute definitions
of design that will please everyone, but attempting to find one can
at least help us pin down the unique set of skills that designers
bring to bear.
Translation
Design could be viewed as an activity that translates an idea into a
blueprint for something useful, whether it's a car, a building, a
graphic, a service or a process. The important part is the
translation of the idea, though design's ability to spark the idea in
the first place shouldn't be overlooked.
Scientists can invent technologies, manufacturers can make
products, engineers can make them function and marketers can
sell them, but only designers can combine insight into all these
things and turn a concept into something that's desirable, viable,
commercially successful and adds value to people's lives.
There are many misconceptions about design. Sunday
supplements and glossy magazines often use 'design' as a
buzzword denoting style and fashion. While the toaster or
corkscrew being featured may be well designed, the result is to
feed the belief of would-be design clients that design is restricted
to the surface of things and how they look, and that it's best
employed at the end of the product development process.
But good design isn't simply about the surface. Aesthetics are
important, but only a part of a bigger picture.
Design is fundamental. People often need reminding that
everything around us is designed and that design decisions impact
on nearly every part of our lives, be it the environments we work in,
the way we book holidays, or the way we go about getting get the
lid off the jam jar. When those things work, it's taken for granted,
but, as Bill Moggridge, founder of international consultancy IDEO,
says: 'A lot of trial and error goes into making things look
effortless.'
Design and the user
Good design begins with the needs of the user. No design, no
matter how beautiful and ingenious, is any good if it doesn't fulfil a
user need. This may sound obvious but many products and
services, such as the Sinclair C5, Wap mobile phone services, and
a great many dot com businesses failed because the people
behind them didn't grasp this.
Finding out what the customer wants is the first stage of what
designers do. The designer then builds on the results of that
inquiry with a mixture of creativity and commercial insight.
Although gut instinct is part of the designer's arsenal, there are
more scientific ways of making sure the design hits the mark.
Different designers use different methods - combining market
research, user testing, prototyping and trend analysis.
Any product launch is ultimately a gamble, but these methods help
decrease the risk of failure, a fact that often comes as a surprise to
clients.
Creativity
A design doesn't have to be new, different or impressive to be
successful in the marketplace, as long as it's fulfilling a need, but
design methods do lead to innovative products and serivces.
Designers learn that ideas that may seem strange are worth
exploring and that the 'common-sense' solution is not always the
right one. Designers often hit on counter-intuitive concepts through
methods such as drawing, prototyping, brainstorming and user
testing. Watching users in real-world situations especially gives
insights into their behaviour that lead to ideas that wouldn't have
formed had the designer simply thought about the situation, or
relied on generalised market research.
Design and business
Designers, unlike artists, can't simply follow their creative
impulses. They work in a commercial environment which means
there is a huge number of considerations that coming to bear on
the design process.
Designers have to ask themselves questions such as: is the
product they're creating really wanted? How is it different from
everything else on the market? Does it fulfil a need? Will it cost too
much to manufacture? Is it safe?
Emphasis on the customer makes design a formidable weapon for
any business. Companies have often designed their way out of
failure by creating a product that serves the customer's needs
better than its rivals'. Design delivered the operating-system
market to Microsoft, rescued Apple Computer and made Sony an
electronics giant. A Design Council study has shown that
design-led businesses on the FTSE 100 out-performed the index
by 25%.
Putting an emphasis on design brings creativity into an
organisation and increases the chance of producing
market-leading, mould-breaking products. As the sophistication of
the consumer and global competition increases, this becomes
more and more valuable.
Businesses are finding that they can no longer compete just by
slashing prices or upping the marketing budget. Innovation in the
form of design is the key to success.
Design and public services
Billions are poured into public services every year but, despite the
UK being home to a huge variety of top design talent, our best
designers are rarely involved in public sector work.
Design can help public services in a number of ways, from making
sure products and services meet the needs of users to increasing
innovation within organisations and bringing new perspectives to
issues such as procurement.
