What is design?

Recalling a friend who would stop what he was doing, excited about having spotted yet another example of "design" the elixir of our profession floating about, shouting "There it is!" pointing towards a towel, rythymic background chatter, or the cabinets of color creating a cityscape. We're both graphic designers, who for the most part unchain the enduring comments which can send anyone up the wall, particularly at the drop-dead delivery door, "Could you make the logo bigger", "I don't like the color, could we use ...", "Can we move the type there...", etc. etc,. Comments. Reasons. Changes. Debates and project terminations sap anyones sense of creativity and authorship.

Moreover, as feedback particulalry from colleagues within the industry, the internet specifically, the process of design either absent or politically intoxicated has little recourse but to entertain the flow of opinions which circulate a designer's creative space.

I've wondered if it saves time or provides additional encumbrences. As an art director, time is saved by delving through the nuances grouped elements from past projects, realizing for instance how sublte flourishes underscored by kerned type can have a distinct presence and tone. woman's deodarant would it undermine, underscore, soften, harden, pronounce or whisper the same. As a team player, the question remains, are these acknowledgements being provided by colleagues? Are people cognicant of a design or a design element having been internalized, do they sense the balance Arial Bold as a headline would struggle with when a softer jade-colored bodycopy

are people capabale of auditing a received marketing message, or are their comments a vocalizatiof the that . Or are they relying stricly upon personal preferences. Of course, there alone returns up to the .

AOL a or any large group has the diffiulct task of having an umbrella identity fo rso many diverse prducts. However unlike packaged goods, services, and self products the identity, message, the flow of a informatioj is neatly contained on the presentation. It'[s supported by the content or expereince provided within the store, or service, and it provides a supporting presence while sitting within your cupboiard. Onlin ebrands and product do not enjoy this. They often remain in the recess of your mind, coming to light when facilitated by a catchy phrase - autodesk, amazon, google.

However it raises a very vailid point which has never been directly challenged outside focus groups. What qualifies a person to having the ability to gauge a design. Ok, you may say the client knows best, the budget being theres, the audience having been well addressed, your fee clearly coming from their pocket, there are a million variables in what makes a design, but what a disgn makes is still not clear.

Intuitively speaking, intuition being what seasoned designers rely upon, speaks volumes. And does not. Creativity which again fills shelves upon shelves of libraries and book shelves supports methods and avenues of reconciliation yet, they define nill in regards the direct path towards a design. Communally speaking, and here we find ourselves also defining for what the process of design exists, with the rapid product development cycles, the injection of as many opinions completly undermines the

design relies uponI'm sure would justify the appropriateness of their comments apropos the investment into their product, service, or brand. Within reason is say as ultimately all comments that begin with this dismissive start ultimately waters down or destroys a design's integrity. Many times before it's even complete. Sure, one would argue the client is closer to the product or service than any designer will ever be. However, last heard wasn't our job as designers to reach out to consumers providing a conduit through visual communication through which that product, service or brand would ring relevant and hopefully be worth the money our beloved clients would love seeing flow from their pockets? Ah, yeah!

Then wouldn't it make sense to allow someone with that skill and training the breathing room to explore and assemble the necessary ingredients so that the final solution is complete? Ah, yeah! And wouldn't it make sense to allow these individuals to refer to their sources for inspiration and confer with those whom they've found have their fingers on the pulse, so to speak? Ah..everyone?

Yeah!!!!

I think for those who don't understand design - no folks, it's not art, nor is it science, but a bit of both - is that good design is transparent. It's a clear window through which a product, service, or brand can be as pretty and tasty as it can be. Sure, there may be a few specks of dust - if you stare at one area. The current trend with clients exacerbates this by giving us even less time to develop clear solutions which leads to nasty smudges and honkin spots. No fun. Not satisfying, and in my book a huge dissapointment for having let the brand and consumer down.

I guess when it comes to my friend (he didn't particularly agree with me having claimed this to him) comes down to personality. He's vibrant, energetic, happy, alive. Me, I'm always looking at the negative, the injustice, the crap that goes on, the dead. Which I guess he would then say, "ya, see, design is even here between us." And I'd have to agree. Design is alive in perfect compromise. A delicate balance of seemingly unsavory personality traits between flatmates, when design stops becoming a color, a typeface, a grid, layout or pattern, but a flowing harmony, the tune of which we hum developing that sparkling presentation we offer consumers.