Defy Defining Design
It's not what design is, but how we approach it that matters.
Reading Paul’s post from Wednesday, I was reminded how much work is performed by the word "design" and how many domains it crosses over. Poynor stakes a claim for greater emphasis on the visual in design, but as Paul wisely points out, a lopsided account of the discipline is unproductive.
Certainly, the way something looks is important, but this isn’t the only criteria for a design. John Maeda writes:
[I]n Japanese there is the word sekkei, which connotes designing a mechanism, system, or technology with rationalized metrics for quality. Dezain, on the other hand, goes beyond an object’s function to how it makes us feel.
This seems to be the right idea. However, such a definition places no limitations on how sekkei or dezain are accomplished or in what proportion. Something that works well can make us feel good; it doesn’t necessarily have to look good. Similarly, as Donald Norman points out, something that looks good can make us think it works well. Both might be considered good designs by their users.
