Defining Design

Response to Reading 1

This reading was made up of a series of introductions from different design books. Each section had a slightly different goal but all seemed to be trying to accomplish the same goal: defining design.

The first introduction attempts to define the goal of design itself. The first author describes the story of a specific civil rights demonstration and he calls it good design. The point that he makes is that design is everywhere in our world and it is part of the human condition. It was very interesting to hear all the ways design can be applied to the world around us. Design doesn’t just apply to objects but also systems and ways of life.

I think the second author makes some really great points about how humans are naturally compelled to make the world better and that we do not just survive, we also strive to improve the quality of out existence. The good points, however, are buried in a lot of supercilious and puffed up fluff. The author gets a little preachy and high on design. He over emphasizes it and makes it out to be a little more than it is. This seems to be what the first author was alluding to in his first paragraph when he spoke of people who think design is everything.

The rest of this reading was made up of several design essays from a third book. These essays focused on several different aspects of design. I really enjoyed these articles because of their simple and definitive explanations that were full of excellent points. I agree that problem solving is a massive part of design and that it goes hand in hand with learning. Iteration is key to good design and it is often overlooked. You’re first design is barely every your best. I also found the information about design being a social activity very valuable. I agree that the social aspect of design is extremely important. An important part of the creative process is collaboration. Ideas grow exponentially when they are able to bounce from designer to designer and grow from the shared creative input.