In a conversation with my old painting professor about her experiences at Grad School she told me about a professor she had who would bring his students to tears during their painting critiques by making comments like, “This is not art---this is design! And it’s not very good design either!” Being an art student at the time I was taken aback, thinking ouch I hope I never get a critique like that! However now as a design student, I look back and wonder why the word “design” was used in such a derogatory way? Why is it that we associated design and designers with just great packaging?
Well, according to Janet Rae-Dupree of The New York Times, “Design is more than packaging… it can weave together elements of demographics, research, environmental factors, psychology, anthropology and sociology to generate novel solutions to some of the most puzzling problems in business” (Unboxed: Design is More Than Packaging). The term associated with this is philosophy is “Design Thinking”, and it incorporates all discipline areas that are associated with humans because the goal is to fulfill people’s needs rather than trying to persuade them with packaging. The Design Process is synonymous with Design Thinking as a method through which designers generate solutions and fulfill needs. Many times this principle is used in the business aspect of design, but I believe that it applies to all aspects of design. We as designers don’t begin by creating a product; we begin by starting a process that involves thinking and the whole design process to create a final product. Karl Aspelund, IDEO and Scott Mc Cloud all discuss this process in their own respective fields. However, the final product is always the one judged not the amazing process. This product is the only thing most consumers/people get to view and often their reaction to the package/experience is what gives design a bad name. Actually, it’s the designer’s simple solution achieved through the steps of the design process, and not the product that elicits a negative association in the audience.
Simplicity is key to understanding why design is viewed in a negative light. It is such a powerful tool in design that viewers often mistake how efficiently it addresses people’s needs for function AND people’s want for beauty with just a clever graphic packaging. Simplicity in design is so deft that it fools the viewer into believing that even they could come up with such a solution, but only the designer holds the secret of the hard work and the long process of: inspiration, identification, conceptualization, exploration, definition/modeling and communication that led to the production of the design. The design that some look at and dismiss mere “packaging” is actually a genius work of art!
So design is not just packaging; it’s a process, a philosophy, simplicity, a solution to which designers give their heart and soul! So, if I ever do get a critique in my painting class telling me that a painting is not art but design I’ll be quick to point out that what is the difference!
Credits:
(heart image) http://www.wwtt.org/HEART1.gif
(quote)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/business/05unbox.html
No comments:
Post a Comment