The Beginner's Guide to Design
What is Design?
All of us have come across the word DESIGN in our lives; we might even use it on a day-to-day basis in different scenarios, but have you ever wondered what this word actually means? Let’s dive into this world of Design today!!
To begin with, we need to study the origin of the word; a simple Google search will reveal that the word Design actually comes from the Latin word dēsignāre, which means "to mark out." Now what does that even mean??
It means to highlight, separate, delineate, and distinguish. In much simpler words, it means to be different from the rest.
In my understanding “Design refers to creating something that is unique or unusual, it could be intentionally put together or something that occurs unintentionally but at the end it is to creating a Product, a Concept, an Idea, an Art or even to coming up with a Solution that has an unique personality and approach to life with a hidden motive”.
What is Design to a Creative Individual?
Design is not necessarily an end product/result; in the creative field, Designing is usually used to refer to the process of developing something meaningful.
Design is a way of communication, a creative person uses design as a tool to impart information and express his/her ideologies, emotions, opinions about certain topics in society and more.
If we are to ponder more on this topic, a question might arise: does design have a purpose? We all know that design deals with creativity, and hence it is closely associated with aesthetics, but does it have an alternate purpose?? A purpose that is more than just looking beautiful on the outside? Perhaps a purpose that is more practical? That’s where we reach the crossroads of Art & Design, and we might wonder aren’t they the same?
Are’nt Art & Design the same?
To a commoner, Art & Design might sound like they are interchangeable words, but a creative person who has some knowledge in the field is well aware that Art & Design are absolutely not the same; while they do have some overlapping parts, they are very different from each other. Let’s look at what exactly Art & Design are.
Art
“Art is a form of self expression”, it focuses on creating visually appealing and thought-provoking works which attract the views and make them question about the hidden meaning behind the art work.
Art is subjective, which means the viewers have the freedom to interpret the artwork based on their own experiences. Art is primarily focused on aesthetics and expression rather than practicality & functionality, which gives it the freedom to use different materials and follow multiple processes without any limit.
Design
“Design is a intentional and structured process of creating solutions to meet specific needs/goals.”
Design is all about practicality & functionality. The primary focus of design is to solve practical problems & address the functional requirements of the users while maintaining a visually pleasing appearance. Design involves a lot of planning and arrangement to provide practical & usable solutions/products.
Take the below images as examples for Art & Design:
The image on the left is an abstract painting, and the image on the right is a Bauhaus-inspired storage unit holding multiple objects.
Visually, both use a similar color palette of primary colours, and have a rather geometric layout of the coloured blocks with vertical & horizontal lines running through them.
Despite the similarities, one is considered Art and the other Design! The sole reason being the purpose of each of them, the painting is considered for visual aesthetics & can be used to enhance a given space; hence it can be considered as an Art piece, whereas the Bauhaus unit is visually appealing in its own way and can also function as a shelf/storage unit. It not only enhances the space visually but also provides practical function; hence it can be considered as Design.
We need to understand that both Art & Design involve a lot of thought, planning, and physical, mental, and creative efforts in making them, and one cannot be considered superior to the other, as both have their own place in the creative field!
To make it more clear, let’s look at the differences between Art & Design below:
Purpose: It refers to the driving force behind Design & Art
Design is purpose-driven; it aims to solve problems & fulfill specific requirements of the user. It has a structured frame & can sometimes be perceived as rigid.
Art is primarily expressive & aimed at provoking emotions or thoughts. It is more flexible & open to interpretation.
Functionality: It refers to the general use of Design & Art
Design focuses on the practicality and usability of the products/space being designed. This does not imply that design is not aesthetic but rather is focused on being functional & aesthetics are just an added value.
Art is not necessarily functional and can exist purely for aesthetic reasons. This does not mean that art cannot have any functional aspects to it, but rather emphasizes the freedom that Art possesses to be able to choose to focus on functionality or aesthetics or both.
User-Centered Vs. Artist-Centered: It refers to the end receiver of Design & Art
Design revolves around the needs of the users
Art revolves around the expression and vision of the artist
Constraints: It refers to the limitations in the field of Design & Art
Designers work within certain constraints like budget, space, and client requirements, which can cause limitations when designing. The designer is bound by the requirements of the client & has to move accordingly. The client has more authority over the direction of the project in many cases.
Artists have more creative freedom in their expressions and many times forego the limitations that design cannot. For example, an artist has more freedom when it comes to choosing the direction of their work and can change the creative approach entirely at any point in their creative process.
It is important to know that the creative field is a vast ocean, and it is constantly growing and changing; what is a fact today can completely be overturned tomorrow, and the same is the case for Art & Design. In fact there are many creative works in the world which make us question if they are truly Art or Design. Read more about it on the next blog Is it Art or Design??
Let’s call it a day with this short blog; hope it was insightful & intriguing. Please leave a positive comment below about what are some Creative designs you’ve come across recently!