By Stevie Wikingi
THEORY (draft)
Theory is critical to design as a tool for effective solutions to design problems & helps the process of design for professional practice & methods for researching to find optimum solutions.
Theory & contributing to a large pool of knowledge will help design as it evolves more & more and becomes more involved in the everyday loves of modern society.
Because design is very much part of life in most sectors of daily life, design must be more suited & adapted to meet future needs & also take into consideration the effects of the design outcome, whether good, bad, useful or not.
Creating cool designs simply for the sake of it just being ‘cool’ are fast becoming outdated as the focus shifts to consider factors such as ’sustainability’ (what impact a design may have on the environment) and to possess such knowledge and understanding is very important to the process of design and its outcome.
Also enhancing quality of life, ‘happiness’ although designing to create absolute ‘happiness’ is somewhat of a lofty idea, improving quality of life generally through design is good.
DESIGN
Design as professional practice
Design is goal oriented
Design is a process
Design gives a solution to a problem
Design improves an existing but less preferred solution
Design is creating something new or useful
Design affects almost every sphere of life, daily life
Design involves creativity, lateral thinking & systematic research & inquiry
Design uses research methods to find best solutions
Design is often based around a need and is deemed good by they it provides or does not provide for that need
Poor design is often a result of poor research or methods, lack of time, lack of interest, lack of motivation on designers part
CREATIVITY
Creativity is an essential part of the design process. all good design has to be done creatively.
Creativity is creating, as composing is to a musician. It is not simply being different or doing things differently just for the sake of being different. Creativity is awesome because it is having fun. The creative process is fun. The painter is having fun while he or she is creating a masterpiece. The musician is having fun while composing a beautiful melody of sounds.
Also creativity must be used and harnessed through systematic methods research practice. A designer must know when to stop & finish a project. When the project is complete to meet the desired solution / conclusion. Creativity is essential but must be accompanied by the other five has proposed by De Bono, 85.
