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DEFINITION OF DESIGN

William R. Miller

How we define design forms the basis of both our theoretical and pragmatic expressions asdesigners. Without a clear understanding of what we mean b !design! we are apt to findoursel"es the "ictims of arbitrar thoughts and stles# unconsciousl mimic$ing themisrepresentations of aesthetics# form# and function ad"ocated b others.

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*he word !design! is commonl used as either a noun or a "erb. ,s a noun# !design! generallrefers to some ob-ect or other entit. ,s a "erb it is usuall used to refer to a process# or series ofacti"ities. 'or the purpose of this definition the word !design! will be used solel as a "erb# thusdrawing attention to the fact that design is a process.

impl put ...

!%esign is the thought process comprising the creation of an entit.!

*his concise# seemingl sterile# and et decepti"el simple definition of design# is built on a solidfoundation of ideas and concepts that will ser"e as the "er root of our philosoph of design. *odismiss this clear# simple definition as being o"erl generic# obscure# or e"en ob"ious# is to missits "alue to us in our e"erda world as designers.

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!%esign is the thought ...!

(t is !first thought#! or that tpe of thought we call insight. (t is the mental snapse that instantlsees the potential connection between problem and possibilit that sees the capacit for order in

the midst of chaos# or for impro"ement amid inefficienc.

%esign is also intuition# that form of subconscious thought that leads us to a deeper sense of$nowing# often in the apparent absence of rational confirmation. (ntuition is a$in to an elongatedinsight that tells us we are on to something. (t is the hunch that often underlies our efforts toperform rational analsis.

%esign also in"ol"es reason# that full conscious form of thought that assesses the problem andanales the possibilities for solution. (t is the analtical process that relies on method andmathematics to assess# refine# and "erif its "arious hpotheses.

,nd finall# design is the snthesis of all three of these aspects of thought 3insight# intuition# andreason that forms the complete# and "erifiable# conceptualiation of possibilit. *o assume that

thoughtfulness in design is limited to one or two of these aspects is to stifle the power of ourcreati"e potential as designers. *hose who argue that !design#! or perhaps e"en !creati"it#! islimited solel to the intuiti"e# or to the rational# often do so based more on a limitation of their owns$ills or interests than on an well5founded epistemolog.

Regardless of what talents we ma ha"e# or lac$# what interests ma moti"ate us# or where wefind our own personal comfort and satisfaction as designers# design in"ol"es the utiliation andsnthesis of all three aspects of thought6 insight# intuition# and reason.

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!%esign is the thought process ...!

,s presented in this definition# design is the acti"it of creation# as opposed to the product ofcreation. (t is a se9uence# or set# of thought5filled e"ents and procedures that lead to the creationof that which is being designed. *his thought process also in"ol"es the "arious acti"itiesassociated with thought 3contemplating# spea$ing# writing# drawing# modeling# constructing# etc.that are tpicall used to carr one:s !image of possibilit! from initial concept to completion.

(n other words# design is not !product! !product! is# rather# the output of design. *hat which hasbeen created is not !a design#! it is what it is 3a house# an automobile# a computer# a health careprogram# a piece of music# etc. it is an !entit! unto itself. %esign is the process used to createthat entit.

*he nature of this process# which is often modeled as a linear se9uence of e"ents# is in realit ahighl complex# multifaceted set of thought5filled acti"ities. While design is linear# in the sensethat it is se9uenced in time as one mo"es from initial concept to a completed product# it is alsononlinear. %esign thought often -umps in discontinuous association from one aspect of a problemto another as it searches for solution. (t is multile"eled# in the sense that o"erall sstems#subsstems# and e"en minute details often need to be considered simultaneousl.

%esign thought is also iterati"e. 7rototpical forms need to constructed# assessed# and thenreformulated to de"elop the understanding necessar for the next higher le"el of solution.

,s one can see# this process called !design! can be discussed and described in man was. *hisis not to sa that a specific description of design 3linear# iterati"e# etc. gi"en at a particular pointin time can not be helpful# for it can and is often necessar for the effecti"e de"elopment andmanagement of the o"erall design process. What is important is the fact that the total thoughtprocess of design in"ol"es a wide "ariet of procedural structures and thus can not be restrictedto a particular methodolog.

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!%esign is the thought process comprising ...!

*hat is# it includes# or contains# e"er thought and action re9uired to create that which is beingdesigned. *he whole of design comprises all the indi"idual parts of that thought process leadingup to# in"ol"ed with# and e"en following the creation of the entit being designed.

%epending on the tpe of entit being designed# this process can include the following6

5 the identification of a set of needs#5 the initial conceptualiation of a wa to meet those needs#5 the further de"elopment of that initial concept#5 the engineering and analsis re9uired to ma$e sure it wor$s#5 the prototping of its preliminar form#

5 the construction of its final form#5 the implementation of "arious 9ualit control procedures#5 selling its "alue to the consumer#5 its deli"er to the consumer#5 pro"iding for after5ser"ice#5 and obtaining feedbac$ regarding its utilit and "alue.

&ach of these steps contributes to the generation of form and is thus part of the design process.

're9uentl# designers 55 those responsible for the creation of an entit 55 limit their definition of

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design to the earl phases of this o"erall process and thus abdicate their responsibilit# asdesigners# to others. (n doing so the relin9uish control to others who are often less committed totheir !image of possibilit! or their !sense of continuit! concerning the final product and how itrelates to the user. *his abdication is one of the primar causes of inferior products.

;ualit design 3the process and 9ualit products 3the output of that process re9uire acomprehensi"e definition of design that comprises the whole !thought/acti"it! design processand not some limited# howe"er well5intended# subset of that process.

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!%esign is the thought process comprising the creation ...!

*his comprehensi"e !thought/action! process is directed toward# and culminates in# creation. *hatis# it leads to the tangible realiation of a mature completion of the !image of possibilit! thatoriginall ser"ed to initiate the process.

Without this realiation the original !image of possibilit! becomes an unfulfilled dream# or afrustration# and in time can "anish altogether. *his is not to sa that the original image does notchange during the design process# for it does and often 9uite drasticall.

What is important is that this change is a natural part of the maturation process and that thesuccessful completion of this process# which often begins as a mere figment of our imagination#culminates as sensible realit in time and space.

*he creation of this realit ser"es as the pi"otal point in the o"erall design process for withoutcreation the process is either incomplete# or fallacious. (t is incomplete when the process stopsprior to creation# fallacious when creation is replaced b one of its impostors.

,ll too often the act of creation is replaced b either coping# or mimic$ing# the results of somepre"ious design process# which itself ma ha"e been fallacious. While the results of similarprocesses ma themsel"es be similar# the are ne"er the same# and should ne"er be ta$en forgranted. &ach design process must include its own act of creation.

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