DESIGN

No generally-accepted definition of “design” exists[1], and the term has different connotations in different fields (see design disciplines below). Informally, “a design” (noun) refers to a plan for the construction of an object (as in architectural blueprints, circuit diagrams and sewing patterns) and “to design” (verb) refers to making this plan[2]. However, one can also design by directly constructing an object (as in pottery, cowboy coding and graphic design).
More formally, design has been defined as follows.
(noun) a specification of an object, manifested by an agent, intended to accomplish goals, in a particular environment, using a set of primitive components, satisfying a set of requirements, subject to constraints;
(verb, transitive) to create a design, in an environment (where the designer operates)[3]
Here, a "specification" can be manifested as either a plan or a finished product and "primitives" are the elements from which the design object is composed.
With such a broad denotation, there is no universal language or unifying institution for designers of all disciplines. This allows for many differing philosophies and approaches toward the subject (see Philosophies and studies of design, below).
The person designing is called a designer, which is also a term used for people who work professionally in one of the various design areas, usually also specifying which area is being dealt with (such as a fashion designer, concept designer or web designer). A designer’s sequence of activities is called a design process[4]. The scientific study of design is called design science [5].
Designing often necessitates considering the aesthetic, functional, economic and sociopolitical dimensions of both the design object and design process. It may involve considerable research, thought, modeling, interactive adjustment, and re-design. Meanwhile, diverse kinds of objects may be designed, including clothing, graphical user interfaces, skyscrapers, corporate identities, business processes and even methods of designing[6].
Contents
1 Design as a process
1.1 Typical steps
2 Philosophies and studies of design
2.1 Philosophies for guiding design
2.2 Approaches to design
2.3 Methods of designing
2.4 Philosophies for the purpose of designs
3 Terminology
3.1 Design and art
3.2 Design and engineering
3.3 Design and production
3.4 Process design
4 See also
4.1 Design disciplines
4.2 Design approaches and methods
4.3 Other design related topics
5 External links
6 Footnotes
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[edit] Design as a process
Design, as a process, can take many forms depending on the object being designed and the individual(s) participating. A simple definition is that design is the process of giving form to an idea. "Form" could be a plan of action or a description of a physical thing.
[edit] Typical steps
A design process may include a series of steps followed by designers. Depending on the product or service, some of these stages may be irrelevant, ignored in real-world situations in order to save time, reduce cost, or because they may be redundant in the situation.
Typical stages of the design process include:
Pre-production design
Design brief or Parti – an early (often the beginning) statement of design goals
Analysis – analysis of current design goals
Research – investigating similar design solutions in the field or related topics
Specification – specifying requirements of a design solution for a product (product design specification[7]) or service.
Problem solving – conceptualizing and documenting design solutions
Presentation – presenting design solutions
Design during production
Development – continuation and improvement of a designed solution
Testing – in situ testing a designed solution
Post-production design feedback for future designs
Implementation – introducing the designed solution into the environment
Evaluation and conclusion – summary of process and results, including constructive criticism and suggestions for future improvements
Redesign – any or all stages in the design process repeated (with corrections made) at any time before, during, or after production.
These stages are not universally accepted but do relate typical design process activities. For each activity there are many best practices for completing them.[8]
[edit] Philosophies and studies of design
There are countless philosophies for guiding design as the design values and its accompanying aspects within modern design vary, both between different schools of thought and among practicing designers.[9] Design philosophies are usually for determining design goals. A design goal may range from solving the least significant individual problem of the smallest element, to the most holistic influential utopian goals. Design goals are usually for guiding design. However, conflicts over immediate and minor goals may lead to questioning the purpose of design, perhaps to set better long term or ultimate goals.

A 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic from the Ralph Lauren collection. "Form follows function" can be an aesthetic point of view that a design can heighten, as often seen in the work of the Bugattis, Ettore, Rembrandt, and Jean.
[edit] Philosophies for guiding design
A design philosophy is a guide to help make choices when designing such as ergonomics, costs, economics, functionality and methods of re-design. An example of a design philosophy is “dynamic change” to achieve the elegant or stylish look you need.
[edit] Approaches to design
A design approach is a general philosophy that may or may not include a guide for specific methods. Some are to guide the overall goal of the design. Other approaches are to guide the tendencies of the designer. A combination of approaches may be used if they don't conflict.
Some popular approaches include:
KISS principle, (Keep it Simple Stupid, etc.), which strives to eliminate unnecessary complications.
There is more than one way to do it (TIMTOWTDI), a philosophy to allow multiple methods of doing the same thing.
Use-centered design, which focuses on the goals and tasks associated with the use of the artifact, rather than focusing on the end user.
User-centered design, which focuses on the needs, wants, and limitations of the end user of the designed artifact.
[edit] Methods of designing
Main article: Design methods
Design Methods is a broad area that focuses on:
Exploring possibilities and constraints by focusing critical thinking skills to research and define problem spaces for existing products or services—or the creation of new categories; (see also Brainstorming)
Redefining the specifications of design solutions which can lead to better guidelines for traditional design activities (graphic, industrial, architectural, etc.);
Managing the process of exploring, defining, creating artifacts continually over time
Prototyping possible scenarios, or solutions that incrementally or significantly improve the inherited situation
Trendspotting; understanding the trend process.
[edit] Philosophies for the purpose of designs
In philosophy, the abstract noun "design" refers to a pattern with a purpose. Design is thus contrasted with purposelessness, randomness, or lack of complexity.
To study the purpose of designs, beyond individual goals (e.g. marketing, technology, education, entertainment, hobbies), is to question the controversial politics, morals, ethics and needs such as Maslow's hierarchy of needs. "Purpose" may also lead to existential questions such as religious morals and teleology. These philosophies for the "purpose of" designs are in contrast to philosophies for guiding design or methodology.
Often a designer (especially in commercial situations) is not in a position to define purpose. Whether a designer is, is not, or should be concerned with purpose or intended use beyond what they are expressly hired to influence, is debatable, depending on the situation. In society, not understanding or disinterest in the wider role of design might also be attributed to the commissioning agent or client, rather than the designer.
In structuration theory, achieving consensus and fulfillment of purpose is as continuous as society. Raised levels of achievement often lead to raised expectations. Design is both medium and outcome, generating a Janus-like face, with every ending marking a new beginning.
[edit] Terminology
Look up design in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
The word "design" is often considered ambiguous depending on the application.

The new terminal at Barajas airport in Madrid, Spain
[edit] Design and art
Design is often viewed as a more rigorous form of art, or art with a clearly defined purpose. The distinction is usually made when someone other than the artist is defining the purpose. In graphic arts the distinction is often made between fine art and commercial art. Applied art and decorative arts are other terms, the latter mostly used for objects from the past.
In the realm of the arts, design is more relevant to the "applied" arts, such as architecture and industrial design. In fact today the term design is widely associated to modern industrial product design as initiated by Raymond Loewy and teachings at the Bauhaus and Ulm School of Design (HfG Ulm) in Germany during the 20th Century.
Design implies a conscious effort to create something that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. For example, a graphic artist may design an advertisement poster. This person's job is to communicate the advertisement message (functional aspect) and to make it look good (aesthetically pleasing).
The distinction between pure and applied arts is not completely clear, but one may consider Jackson Pollock's (often criticized as "splatter") paintings as an example of pure art. One may assume his art does not convey a message based on the obvious differences between an advertisement poster and the mere possibility of an abstract message of a Jackson Pollock painting. One may speculate that Pollock, when painting, worked more intuitively than would a graphic artist, when consciously designing a poster. However, Mark Getlein suggests the principles of design are "almost instinctive", "built-in", "natural", and part of "our sense of 'rightness'."[10] Pollock, as a trained artist, may have utilized design whether conscious or not.

A drawing for a booster engine for steam locomotives. Engineering is applied to design, with emphasis on function and the utilization of mathematics and science.
[edit] Design and engineering
Engineering is often viewed as a more rigorous form of design. Contrary views suggest that design is a component of engineering aside from production and other operations which utilize engineering. A neutral view may suggest that design and engineering simply overlap, depending on the discipline of design. The American Heritage Dictionary defines design as: "To conceive or fashion in the mind; invent," and "To formulate a plan", and defines engineering as: "The application of scientific and mathematical principles to practical ends such as the design, manufacture, and operation of efficient and economical structures, machines, processes, and systems.".[11][12] Both are forms of problem-solving with a defined distinction being the application of "scientific and mathematical principles". How much science is applied in a design is a question of what is considered "science". Along with the question of what is considered science, there is social science versus natural science. Scientists at Xerox PARC made the distinction of design versus engineering at "moving minds" versus "moving atoms".

Jonathan Ive has received several awards for his design of Apple Inc. products like this laptop. In some design fields, personal computers are also used for both design and production
[edit] Design and production
The relationship between design and production is one of planning and executing. In theory, the plan should anticipate and compensate for potential problems in the execution process. Design involves problem-solving and creativity. In contrast, production involves a routine or pre-planned process. A design may also be a mere plan that does not include a production or engineering process, although a working knowledge of such processes is usually expected of designers. In some cases, it may be unnecessary and/or impractical to expect a designer with a broad multidisciplinary knowledge required for such designs to also have a detailed specialized knowledge of how to produce the product.
Design and production are intertwined in many creative professional careers, meaning problem-solving is part of execution and the reverse. As the cost of rearrangement increases, the need for separating design from production increases as well. For example, a high-budget project, such as a skyscraper, requires separating (design) architecture from (production) construction. A Low-budget project, such as a locally printed office party invitation flyer, can be rearranged and printed dozens of times at the low cost of a few sheets of paper, a few drops of ink, and less than one hour's pay of a desktop publisher.
This is not to say that production never involves problem-solving or creativity, nor that design always involves creativity. Designs are rarely perfect and are sometimes repetitive. The imperfection of a design may task a production position (e.g. production artist, construction worker) with utilizing creativity or problem-solving skills to compensate for what was overlooked in the design process. Likewise, a design may be a simple repetition (copy) of a known preexisting solution, requiring minimal, if any, creativity or problem-solving skills from the designer.

An example of a business workflow process using Business Process Modeling Notation.
[edit] Process design
"Process design" (in contrast to "design process" mentioned above) refers to the planning of routine steps of a process aside from the expected result. Processes (in general) are treated as a product of design, not the method of design. The term originated with the industrial designing of chemical processes. With the increasing complexities of the information age, consultants and executives have found the term useful to describe the design of business processes as well as manufacturing processes.
[edit] See also

Design portal
Philosophy of design
[edit] Design disciplines
Commerce
Business design
New product development
Packaging design
Product design
Service design
Process Design
Applications
Experience design
Game design
Interaction design[13]
Sonic interaction design
Software design
Software development
Software engineering
System design
User experience design
User interface design
Web accessibility
Web design
Communications
Book design
Communication design
Content design
Exhibition design
Graphic design
Information design
Instructional design
Motion graphic design
News design
Production design
Sound design
Theatrical design
Typeface design
Typography
Visual communication
Scientific and mathematical
Combinatorial design[14]
Design of experiments
Physical
Architectural design
Architectural engineering
Automotive design
Cellular manufacturing
Ceramic and glass design
Design engineer
Environmental design
Fashion design
Floral design
Furniture design
Garden design
Geometric design
Industrial design
Interior design/redesign
Landscape architecture
Mechanical engineering
Sustainable design
Urban design
[edit] Design approaches and methods
Co-Design
Creative problem solving
Creativity techniques
C-K theory
Design for X
Design leadership
Design management
Design-build
Design patterns
Design strategy
Design thinking
Engineering design process
Error-tolerant design
Fault tolerant design
Functional design
Metadesign
Mind mapping
Open design
Participatory design[15]
Reliable system design
Theory of Constraints
Transformation design
TRIZ
Universal design
User innovation
[edit] Other design related topics
Design organizations
Chartered Society of Designers
The Design Association
AIGA
The Design Society
Interaction Design Association
Design Awards
European Design Awards
IF product design award
James Dyson Award
German Design Award
Design tools
Computer-aided design[16]
Graphic organizers
Design as intellectual property
Design patent (US patent law)
Industrial design rights
Industrial design rights in the European Union
Impact of design
Creative industries
Design classic
Design Museums and Education Centres
Design Exchange
Studying design
Critical design
Design education
Design research
Wicked problems[17]
Designs for the future
Concept design
Futurology