Disclaimer: This is NOT meant to be a statement of general definition. I wrote this article to myself, in an act of self reflection. Since I’m an open person, I felt it was necessary to put this out there for the world to see and comment on.
Do you consider an architect a designer? Is the work of an industrial designer design? If you answer yes to either of these questions, than why is it that some people define the act of design for the digital world to only belonging to the visual side of things? I’ve recently been criticized for calling myself a designer, a user experience designer to be exact. One of my favorite quotes regarding the ambiguous definition of design is “Design’s fundamental role is problem solver”. While this is a great definition of design, it doesn’t really help to justify calling myself a designer, even though my primary role is to solve problems. (Note: The actual title that is prescribed to me is meaningless. What matters to me is the fact that I am recognized as designer, and that the work that I do is design.)
In the work that I do everyday, I try to solve problems for clients, their customers or users, and the problems that plague my own life. What is it about my work that makes me a designer? The key is in the steps taken to create a solution, and more importantly the intent behind that solution. Before a final solution is every discovered, many iterations are explored through sketching and modeling. This ensures that all possible angles are covered, and the problem space is throughly explored to get past the obvious answers and get to the truly extraordinary. Why do these activities make me a designer? Because it’s the same general process, and a proven process, that other ‘designers’ take to creating creative solutions. This process isn’t new, in fact I’d wage it’s been around for centuries thought I don’t know of any source to back up this claim. The fact that some will dismiss this activity as not design simply because it doesn’t result in a rich visual simply doesn’t add up. Not saying that visual design, or emotional design as I like to think of it, isn’t design. As it’s just another slice of the design pie, and all I’m asking is to be included in the pie.
While the process that I follow is important, it pales in comparision to the intent that goes into the solutions I create. Intent is what separates design from art. Artists create as a means of self expression, where designers create based on the expression of others. One argument that I’ve been given as to why I’m not a designer is the fact that I perform research before every thinking about a possible solution. My response to this is that for something to be considered designed, it must have research (‘research’ includes both design and user research) to both inform and validate the decisions that went into the creation process. Without research, your acting more like an artist than a designer. The research is what guarantees that the end result is an expression of the people that will be consuming the solution, and not solely that of the creator.
So why am I a designer? It’s because I throughly explore the problem space of an issue through research, modeling, sketching, designing, and validation using time tested methods that have lead to innovative discoveries, products, and solutions time and time again. It’s because I’m not the audience for the objects I create, rather it’s those that will ultimately be interacting with the solution that is the true audience. It’s because I want to make the world better, and what would make it better for myself may not make it better for you.
Ohh, did you answer ‘No’ to the first two questions? Then there is no hope for you. 