Design is …
I have claimed many identities in this life—a mother, an artist, an activist, a faith leader, a baker, a cook, a builder, a studio manager, a producer, a photo assistant, a creative director, a researcher, an entrepreneur, a social innovator—but I’ve always been reluctant to claim designer as an identity. This has to do with many things, imposter syndrome, being largely self taught, having a formal education in fine art (where I was told to shun design as a lowly craft, unworthy of my creative talents), and the messiness of answering the inevitable question, what is design (or, rather, what do you mean by design)?
Design feels vast. Untenable. Shifting. It feels out of reach, hard to grasp. The more I explore it, the more elusive a singular definition becomes. At the same time, design is very human. It is something we all do. As a transdisciplinary field, design—as a practice, mindset and approach—has a lot to offer in this ever more rapidly changing world.
Instead of defining what design is, I offer up an exploration in the form of a list. This list is a shape-shifting, growing collection, borne out of my love of Jenny Holzer’s truisms and a nod to John Maeda’s loose collection of ideas around design. It is one way I’m living into the questions, “what does it mean to be a designer?”
This list is a starting place. Seeds I have gathered from my travels and have just begun to plant. Each is a world unto its own. Come back to this patch to watch as these seeds sprout and grow, connect and cross-pollinate. If this is design, what does that offer us now, and for our future?
design is a verb and a noun
design is action and artifact
design is a mindset as well as process
design is universal
design is pluriversal
design is a path to equity
design is a social practice
design is a conversation
design is sense-making
design is meaning-making
design is transdisciplinary
design is craft
design is magic
design is future making
design is problem exploration
design is the intentional solution to a problem with a set of constraints
design is thinking
design is love
design is the ability to think by doing
design is making things
design is strategy
design is subversive
design is change
design is a way to a better world
design is sustainable
design is standing in the mess
design is an approach + methods
design is a practice
design is being designerly
design is boundaryless
design is political
design is a set of decisions
design is a weapon
design is speculative
design is nuanced
design is cognition
design is emergent
design is generative
