On what is design

吴虑

Abstract： Design is a creative activity， an unprecedented activity. It can be conceived by stepping on the primitive form， or by inspiration and creativity. Everyone has a definition in mind. It's not so much a name for design as how design exists in everyone's mind. In my opinion， design is an innovative activity that combines visual experience with practical functions. Therefore， design is a convenient way for people to live or enrich some spiritual or material practical products in life， and eventually become a professional subject.

Key words： design thinking， image， thinking

Design is a creative activity， an activity that has never been discovered. It can be conceived by stepping on the primitive form， or by inspiration and creativity. Everyone has a definition in mind. It's not so much a name for design as how design exists in everyone's mind. In my opinion， design is an innovative activity that combines visual experience with practical functions. Therefore， design is a convenient way for people to live or enrich some spiritual or material practical products in life， and eventually become a professional subject. The reason for the design is to create new products to meet the needs of the public. What they like is that the biggest difference between design and art is that art expresses its own feelings， while design takes care of others'feelings and even sympathizes with others. However， there is identity between art and design. Art and design use inspiration as the medium， knowledge and storage as the assistant， so as to observe in real time， pay attention to the things around them， and find the creative points they need to create. Design is mainly innovation， mainly use function. Design is to do what the public likes， to create what the public expects， and then to some extent to serve the public， such as the population of the third world. Now， the world calls on designers to make products that special or vulnerable groups need， such as green design， minimalist design and emotional design. All style trends are advocated by contemporary design， so why design？ I think design is a career that promotes the development of the world， from changing the appearance and practical value of small and medium-sized products in life to changing the quality of life of a country or even a nation. Design is a process of creative change. It can serve people's life， put people first and improve their spiritual taste. In addition， I would like to talk about the position and depth of design in the minds of designers or professional students. I had the privilege of watching an interview with Ten Talks. Ten famous designers described their design concepts and unique insights. After reading it， it had a great impact on me. I think the rest of us conclude with the shoulders of giants. Instead of focusing on defining design， it's better to see how successful people "live out design" in their lives.

I think it's safer and easier to pick apples on giants'shoulders. Designer is actually an ordinary profession. They just want to change or improve everything around them. They have to say that designers are different from other professions. Perhaps what I want to say is that designers are different in expressing what they want to express through aesthetics， creation or products. Maybe designers want people to think about what they want， or change their deep-rooted ideas. Therefore， as a designer， the most important thing is not to be bound by the secular. You are an expressor and a practitioner. You lose the root cause of the design， because what are you doing when you are a downstream boat？ Being driven by society is a terrible thing. Walking changes the brain. Walking and watching， I have my own ideas， and gradually have their own design style.

Back to the starting point， what is design？ I think I have made it clear that on the one hand， this problem can not be summarized in one word， on the other hand， it can not be clearly explained. In this process， the parties must consider each other， which is a satisfactory answer. Designers in different directions have different answers and different levels of designers have different perceptions. Therefore， when we come to the front， we should learn more and broaden our horizons. When our theory is reliable， we should take the stairs. In addition， after we have completed the designer's own requirements， we should go a long way， design can bring people more hope and beauty. If you look at society from a designer's point of view， design is everywhere. However， from my personal understanding， design has taught me a lot of relationships， how to deal with the relationship between people， between people and objects， and between people and space. For example， I need to be consistent with others. Design is far from the end， only continuous evolution and renewal.