Some notes on the meaning of "design" (or, more precisely, on some meaning clusters of "design.")
As Eduardo points out, one primary sense of the word design is drawing--but in the sense of a plan rather than in the sense of an object that is its own end. (The English word "design" dates back to the 14C. It comes from Middle English to outline or indicate which came from the Anglo-French and Medieval Latin for to designate which in turn came from the Latin for to mark out.) Other core meanings center on conception, intention, arrangement, graphic representation/communication, and pattern and ornament.
The word's current use in my small corner of the world is a byproduct of modern production. It has implications of the planning of an object that is separate from (but informed by/about) the production of the object. Graphic design was a coinage that generally coincided with the separation of design (i.e., the planning of form) from the printing process. In the same sense, product design as an occupation came about with mass production allowing the separation of design from making (except for the making of plans or prototypes.)
This use of the term implies an assumption of a physical object but the dematerialization of publications and products make that a problem so the immaterial aspects seem to be coming to the fore. Faced both with immateriality and an interest in expanding our influence, many of those of us in this tradition have tended to concentrate on the variety of mental skills that relate to our previous object creation. A concentration on planning people's experiences has become central for many of us in these design areas.
Some remaining aspects that define design include useful outcome and intentionality. There is still some concentration on realization--beyond just concept. The idea of strategic aspects, iterative method, systems thinking, complex or abstract goals seems to distinguish what might be called big D Design from small d design.
Some questions:
Glen Johnson tells us that "design is an artistic act of exceptional engineering." Does that mean that anything that does not focus on engineering or anything that is unexceptional in its engineering is not design?
How is design in engineering distinguished from other aspects of engineering? How about in architecture?
Several people seemed happy with design as innovation. Leaving aside the question of whether there is non-design innovation, does that mean that anything that is not new is automatically not design?
People use the phrase "art and design." Can anyone tell me what that means or includes?
Gunnar
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