What do designers really do?

Some people don’t know what designers do, or just how important design is to society. This ignorance is even more highlighted in Nigeria where designers are just people who know how to draw or use Photoshop. To be completely honest, even some of the people calling themselves designers are satisfied with that definition.

So what exactly do designers do?

First off, designers do a lot more than draw stuff and use Photoshop.

There is this misconception that designers are just here to make things pretty. Well, we designers have an eye for aesthetics (inspired by our artistic disposition) but that’s not all we are good for. Therein is a fundamental difference between art and design; between an artist and a designer. Art is subjective in nature, the artist doesn’t have any special agenda apart from making beautiful and emotionally meaningful artifacts, even though it is not particularly useful in the utilitarian sense. And the same art can make different people feel different things. Design, on the other hand, is objective; design always solves a specific problem, it always meets a particular objective, design always performs a specific function, design is created to elicit a specific response.

With design there is always a purpose beyond just existing. The products of design are created to add value to a user’s life in some form. Every single design choice is a response to a specific need criteria of a user of that design. This makes the profession of design one that relies heavily on human observation, asking questions and synthesizing answers.

Designers are problem solvers by nature. The different types of design provide different outlets for various forms of problem solving in different market environments. A designer is not defined by her proficiency in a particular software, her knowledge of whatever specific application only aids her design process; the same way knowing how to operate an oven does not make a person a baker.

So, all that being said, let us answer the question.

Basically, a designer gives form to ideas to solve specific problems. Whether the problem is a message that needs to be disseminated, or a more effective way of scooping ice cream, the designer considers the problem, thinks creatively about the best solution and gives that solution form.

Creovativ is an Abuja based design company that focuses on creating corporate identities and websites. You can check out what we do here: www.creovativ.com. We have conversations about design, technology, creativity and innovation on our social channels. Twitter: @creovativ and Facebook: fb.com/creovativ.