Design Is Everything Is Design

Wait… what?

“Design is the creation of a plan or convention for the construction of an object or system.”

Ok, that makes a bit more sense. But let’s go back to the title (or at least half of it): Design is everything. Is that true? Perhaps not if we think too literally, but besides the obvious stuff just about everything in our lives can be broken down into either objects or systems. Shower curtains, fitness plans, cutting boards, your morning routine, etc; all have been preconceived or designed to serve one or multiple purposes. Whether it serves those purposes well depends on the intent and skill of the designer(s).

Design exists on multiple plains. For this reason, we will define what design is (specifically what makes it good or bad) primarily from a visual standpoint. To define what design is from a methodological point of view requires a whole different set of thoughts and ideas of which I feel I am ill-equipped.

To ask the question “What is design” begs another question “What makes good design?” Perhaps that’s not the best inquiry, as everyone has different tastes and will respond to these objects or systems differently. Since good design is objective, lets ask the question “What makes effective design?” In his TED video, Don Norman explores beauty and why we are attracted to some things as opposed to others based on their aesthetic appeal. He argues that effective design garners an emotional response from the viewer. This is achieved by combining beauty with functionality.

“You only notice design when it’s bad.”

So what happens if something is designed badly? If design is everything and one of these objects or systems isn’t performing effectively, what are the consequences? The user will dispose of it, ignore it, laugh at it, criticize it, burn it (you get the picture?) and move on to something better. In order to resonate with the user the design must perform up to certain standards without forsaking the visual and/or emotional pleasure found in effective design. When designing objects or something meant to be seen, one must be wary of adding too much emphasis on visual elements. It becomes something of a balancing act, as too much optical aesthetic can be just as detrimental as poor practicality.

Now that we have a basic understanding of what design is, and what makes it effective or null, lets look at some real-life examples. Decide for yourself if what you see is successful or not. Once you’ve made your decision, ask yourself why it’s successful or not. This is a good exercise in defining your interpretation of visual elements through visual thinking. Chances are if something looks good to you, it will look good to someone else. So dive deeper by asking yourself why.

It can be hard to define why something looks better than something else. We just know it does. It’s programmed into us naturally. All of the examples shown above were either posters or layouts, which means their sole function is too communicate. All of them are communicating something, but which ones are communicating it more effectively? Which ones are bringing not only the functionality of the written word but also the effective principles of beautiful design to the table? Which ones will be more easily remembered? Which ones garner an emotional response? It shouldn’t be to difficult to tell. If it is, fear not, for there’s a cure here.

What is design? Design is everything (plans and conventions for building objects and systems, so just about). What makes effective design? Form paired with funcionality. Why do we care? Because design is everything is design.