Starting something new
Jamie Serjeant
Why the Design Society?
Design is such a broad, misused, and misinterpreted word. What does it mean to actually ‘design’ something? If I was sufficiently cynical, I might argue that the word is actually now void of meaning; a superficial expression which has succumbed to the realm of marketing and business newspeak. But perhaps it’s not too late to find a meaning.
When there is such confusion about what the role of the designer is, it’s important to highlight the fact that design has never been more crucial to the world than it is today.
With so many global challenges to conquer, such as disease, war, financial inequality, discrimination and climate change, it’s unequivocal that humans must act less as individuals and more as a society. That may sound pious, but the truth is that we’re constantly surround by technology, politics, economics, engineering, mathematics and language which not all of us understand. We can’t sustain ourselves for much longer on ivory towers of knowledge, on greed and profiteering, on selfishness and obfuscation.
In my opinion, the act of design is simple. It’s to fully comprehend a problem, and reduce it to an accessible, simple and elegant solution.
Good design, the act of simplification, invention and communication, is the means by which I think we will overcome these challenges. Design is neither purely science nor art. I think it’s more about a holistic approach to solving problems.
With every small achievement, each website designed, each product invented, each incremental piece of knowledge gained, we’re taking steps to improve the world through better design. It’s not just about the end result - it’s about the philosophy and the motives. It’s about bringing meaning, significance, knowledge and better quality of life to those who would otherwise not have it. It’s about the relentlessly powerful idea that better design can improve our collective future.
So it all sounds rather grand, but this is why I believe design is important. The most immediate thing we can do is to start something which will attempt to support and inspire those who want to improve the world, with every step both large and small in product and graphic design. I hope we can do this with the University of Bristol Design Society.
