Design is not what something looks like, but it is what it is made of. ‘What is design?’ is a question that stumps very many designers. Is it art that is skin-deep or the craft that helps to create it. Is it the structure that holds it together or the idea that created it all? Asking a hundred designers would only give an equal amount of unique and absurd answers, ranging from the most outlandish, ‘Design is what the designer does’ to the ‘Design is the art of scheming’ quotes.
One of the most accurate and satisfying explanation I came across, which I readily embraced, at an early stage of my career, is, ‘Design is bringing together and creating relationships between disparate elements”. What it essentially means is that, design is neither the mere beauty nor the make-up on the faces of individual pieces but it is the beautiful relationship they share among them and the hierarchy they submit to, thereby coming together to create a cohesive union.
Applying this principle to any artwork, you realize that everything falls into its own special space. Bold titles that look confident. Supported by leading copy that elegantly support the headline, followed by running content, images and art that conveys the message and complete the page. Everything knows it place and plays it’s role. Nothing tries to supercede the other and none out of tune. Every element compliments and balances each other, just like one big happy family.
Design is not in what is, but it is also in what is not. It is just not the colors, not the fonts and not the pics. But it is also in the invisible grids, the empty margins, the narrow gutters, the spaceous leading and also in the itsy bitsy gaps between the characters. It is in the patterns and it is in the contrasts. It is not just the positive space but more so in the negative.
In my opinion, our (mis)understanding of design manifests itself in all the works/disasters we create. If we think of design as the icing on the cake, that meets our eyes – we end up with a product that looks good on the outside. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The purpose of the cake is not just to look good. It needs to taste good too. While the icing may make the cake inviting there is no guarantee that it would make it a tasty one. Just like a good layout, a good cake is a result of assembling the right ingredient, in the right proportion, in the right time and with right preparation and right execution.
Good design is not an aesthetic excersice. It is an art of creating visual balance and order that supports the context of communication positively. Design is bringing together and creating relationships between disparate elements’ – Agreed, it can’t be the only definition, but this works for me. I have found my definition of design. Unless you find yours, you will only be shooting in the dark…