Thinking

What is Design anyway?

"Design is thinking made visual."
– Florence Nightingale

Design aspires to the power of music. Beautiful, sophisticated aesthetics create exhilaration. Spatial relationships, forms, image and colour can stir powerful emotions that come from perception, tactility, ease of use and joy of performance.

The often complex and difficult task of combining any number of factors to create sheer pleasure holds an apparent contradiction. When a work of design resonates with clarity, simplicity and beauty it emanates a natural “it’s always been this way” facility.

A great Design hides the very difficult and demanding process of selection, editing, refinement, decision-making and critical thinking that is required to create it. The apparent effortlessness is in fact the result of considerable effort.

It is hard to verbalize. But we know great design when we see it.

Design has no natural beginning or end.

Art is about asking questions. Design is about solving problems.

Design is about understanding human behavior and beliefs.

Design brings structure, and clarity to perception.

Design must consider implications.

Everything is designed, but not necessarily well considered.

Design is about the future.

The design of systems is the most important design.

If somebody doesn’t hate it – chances are nobody loves it.

Design is about purpose – what are we trying to do? And why?

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
– Steve Jobs