Imagine, you are out waiting for a taxi. You are about to miss your appointment. You wait for minutes but Good Lord! — there’s not a single taxi that can offer you a ride.
This is a problem, and it needs to be solved. So, you come up with an idea that you will connect yourself with every taxi driver in the city through an app so that they are notified when and where you need them. Just like that — you have your million dollar idea and you forget about your appointment, get back to your apartment to plan out everything that you need to do to make that app happen.
This is how we can define Design. It’s a plan or specification to construct something that only exists because there is a need. Through Design, you are taking a step toward solving the problem. Remember, the problem isn’t solved yet, you need to construct (development) the entire product according to your plan (Design) to actually solve the problem.
Roles of Design
As we have learned earlier that the purpose of Design is to initiate a solution to a problem, this initiative can be divided into two roles:
- Making the solution functional
- Making the solution look good
Look at this button design. The functional role of the Design is to make you click on the button. On the other hand, the secondary role is to make it look appealing.
Good Design or Bad Design?
Based on the evaluation of these two roles, we can easily distinguish good designs from bad ones. A good design makes the solution (read product) perfectly functional and aesthetic at the same time. A perfectly functional, but not so aesthetic solution can also be a result of good Design. However, if a design offers an aesthetic solution with bad functionality, it is just a bad design.
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
— Steve Jobs
Art or Science
Is design art, or is it science? Before we dive in, let’s take a step back and refresh the fundamentals.
Art is an expression of human creation of which the primary purpose is to convey emotions, thoughts, desires, or intuitions; an artist communicates with the audience through art. On the other hand, science is a system of acquiring knowledge that encompasses systematic study through observations and experiments.
While artists and designers often use similar tools, Design is far from art. Moreover, despite both Design and science requiring systematic study, they are not synonymous. The bottom line is that Design is an aggregate of both. It is neither as subjective as art nor as objective as science. Unlike art, Design is not contingent on personal views. Contrary to science, it does not limit itself to solid reality.
In a nutshell, Design lies in the middle.
Is Design Art?
Design can convey emotions and intuitions of the designer as art does. However, the purpose of Design itself is crucial to distinguish between Design and art. Although Design also communicates with its audience, its objectivity and universality separate it from art. Art expresses itself with its visibility, while Design by its solution and stays unnoticed. (you will understand this by the end of the article).
Is Design Science?
Just like science which is the system of acquiring knowledge, Design is a system of making a plan. Although both having systematic approaches toward them and research being part of the systems, the purpose is quite different — science offers explanations, while Design provides solutions.
Art is in your heart but the heart doesn’t necessarily suggest you a solution, design does and so does brain!
The Objectivity of Design
We keep saying that art is subjective, science is objective, and Design is somewhere in between. Let’s try to visualize that for a moment.
Suppose we want to design a movie poster. Now let’s put that in the context of our definition of Design — Design, only exists when there is a need, is a plan to create something to initiate a solution to a problem. The Design of the poster will only exist because there is a need. What can be the need here? Marketing needs.
Next, the Design will initiate a solution to a problem. So, what’s the problem, and what’s the solution to the problem? The problem is that people won’t watch our movie unless they know about its existence and are intrigued to watch it. The physical poster that will let people know about the movie and intrigue them is the solution.
At this point, we have defined our problem and have an idea about the solution. Let’s hire two talented designers to create a model of the solution so that our expectation of the solution meets the reality after the Design is implemented. Now, we provide the designers with the necessary information. Let’s assume that both of them will create great designs (because we hired great designers).
Once submitted, let’s compare the designs. What are the differences, and what are the similarities? Obviously, both will look significantly different from each other. However, the significant similarity we will notice is that both are communicating the same thing, both the designs are intriguing the viewers, and both are containing a similar set of elements (texts, images, graphics).
Let’s revise the roles of Design we have learned earlier. We use Design to make the solution functional and look good. Now let’s put these roles into the context of our poster design example. The aesthetic aspect of the designs varied, where the functionality remained the same. It leads us to the conclusion that the functionality aspect of a design is objective and universal. However, the looks will always be subjective.
Design and Engineering
Are designers engineers, or is it the other way around? To answer this question, we can divide the product development process into two components. To make a solution (read product) functional —
a. the specification (or plan) should be made according to the user requirements,
b. the product should be constructed according to the specification.
People responsible for the former are called designers and people responsible for the latter are called engineers. If we observe carefully, designers are more responsible for ensuring pleasurable human interaction with the product; they closely work with humans to ensure that. On the other side, engineers are more accountable for constructing the product in such a manner that the product functions according to the specification and doesn’t fall apart; they mostly work with the construction tools.
Does it mean designers don’t code and engineers don’t plan? Not necessarily. Having coding knowledge is beneficial for designers. Knowing how the product is going to be constructed often helps the designer to design. But when a designer is writing codes, it’s no longer a part of the design; it’s part of engineering. Similarly, when an engineer creates the specifications, it’s not part of the engineering; it’s part of the Design.
Design and Innovation
At this point, we have an idea about what Design means. To find the connection between Design and innovation, we must define innovation first.
Innovation is the process of solving a problem in a way that creates value for customers.
The definition, however, overlaps significantly with that of Design. So what’s the difference? Design is the plan to create something (read to solve a problem), and for it to be innovation, the solution has to create values.
In the process of product development, it is necessary that we define a problem and reach the solution through the means of Design and implementation. Whether the product will bring innovation or not, depends on how we define that problem. By definition, for a product to bring innovation, it has to create values for its customers. But how do we create value? We create values by making the product feasible, viable, and desirable. Thus our problem statement should include feasibility, viability, and desirability, so the product is designed in a way that checks all the boxes.
Here we have two problem statements; the first one is for product development, and the second one is for innovative product development:
- Connect users with the nearest taxi and let them know each other’s location.
- Connect users with the nearest taxi and let them know each other’s location in a way that is fast, intuitive and will cost them the amount they are happy to pay and also feasible for the business to continue operating.
Design as a Bridge
A bridge connects two ends usually divided by some obstacle. Just like that, Design is a bridge between problem and solution, business and people. We already have adequate knowledge about how Design is the bridge between problem and solution. But the latter argument — Design is a bridge between business and people — needs to be constructed.
To construct the argument, we need to understand the relation between products and services a bit. It is to be mentioned that people often confuse products with goods, but that’s another topic to discuss. How I see it (outside the context of Design), product is the parent of goods and services where goods are tangible, and services are intangible. But we designers set the relationship in a slightly different way. We see a product as a mean to deliver a service. As an example, Uber app is a product and its connecting drivers with passengers is a service.
Now let’s get back to our bridge argument. Product is made through Design and service is delivered through product. Designers take the problem statement from business to design a product that will serve the customers. So why don’t we say that the product is the bridge between business and people? Or may it’s the service! Well, the product itself can’t connect business with people if there’s no service, and service itself is dependent on the product. If we take a closer look, it’s the design that makes the product deliver the service; hence it’s the actual bridge that connects businesses with people.
The Visibility of Design
Think about a situation — you are visiting a university from your dream that is full of architectural surprises. You roam around the campus and sheer excitement engulfs you as you finally think about visiting the library. You keep walking and end up in front of the library taking the shortest route possible without asking anyone, without being guided by any signs. This is the power of Design. Great designs being invisible, guide you towards the right direction with the least possible effort. As Design gets better and better, its visibility keeps decreasing.
Great designs are a hundred percent transparent.
Design exists to satisfy some need, and it encompasses problem-solving. While Design isn’t the solution, it’s a model of the solution. Not being entirely art or science, it’s a complement of engineering. Great designs being invisible, connect people with businesses in the most efficient way.
Happy Designing!
