The first step for researching on design is having a personal vision of what design is, in order to use it as a tool for this task. This is my definition of Design so far,
Design is about projecting solutions. First, it starts as a personal process, both cognitive and personal, that requires engaging with people’s needs given a certain problem in a certain context. In the middle, it involves a communication process, with sharing of knowledge, values, perspectives, desires, and aims.
At the end, it concludes with the externalization of an idea, either for immediate use or as a basis for further design. Even more, within a social context, any projected solution and its materialization involve the conformation of stories in people’s everyday.
Under that definition I believe Design should follow these principles*,
- Design should be human-centered
- Design should be functional
- Design should be aesthetic
- Design should be empower communication
- Design should be empower understanding
- Design should be empower transformation
- Design should be thoughtful
- Design should be involved with sustainability
- Design should be useful
- Design should be rich
* I’ll expand these principles in subsequent posts. The first draft of this personal theory about Design can be found at my SlideShare.