WHAT THE F#*% IS PRODUCT DESIGN?

The first class of Contemporary Design Culture.

We were asked “Is product design more art or more engineering?” This created a huge divide in the room. However, I believed product design is a combination of art and engineering and they both are equally important in the profession. As the class debated this question, I began to think. My mind was changed. I now believe product design is more art than engineering. As a designer, I believe it is a designer’s duty to create, build and bring beautiful pieces into the world. As a product designer I believe it extremely important to have empathy for the user, a product designer needs to make the user’s experience as graceful and smooth as possible. I think that is an art. There is so many magnificent components in a well-designed product, how it feels in your hand, how it fits into an environment, how a mechanism works.

But obviously, there is a lot of engineering in product design, without the engineering side to product design there would be no product to design. I heard a very interesting quote in class. the quote is, ''There is art in engineering and there is engineering in art".

I believe this was the best way to bring the discussion to a conclusion.

What is your design philosophy?

We were asked this in class, initially I didn't even know what a design philosophy was. A design philosophy is a theoretical basis or driving force behind the work of a designer. I reflected on my personality, what I believe in, where I come from and different role models in my life. These are some of the things that will affect my design philosophy. After looking online at various famous design philosophies, I was intrigued, I wondered what my design philosophy will be in five years’ time. Mine is developing at that moment. Here are some of the design philosophies I found.

“My aim is to omit everything superfluous so that the essential is shown to the best possible advantage.” -Dieter Ram.

“Form follows function – that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union” – Frank Lloyd Wright. (10 of the Best Design Philosophies of All Time | Proto.io Blog, 2020)

Dieter Ram believed making a product useful above all else, and Lloyd Wright believed function and form should be one. I found it interesting that different design philosophies worked for different people. My plan is to explore and read about more design philosophies and in doing that I will be able to discover my own. I am also in the process of discovering my own as I do projects in college. Although I haven’t figured out my entire design philosophy, there is one design moral that I do want to follow. I hope to design products that are sustainable and environmentally friendly. If I work for a company, I hope they are environmentally conscious.

I am extremely glad to have this module; it gives me the opportunity to focus on what kind of work I want to do in the future which excites me. I am eager to discover more about my design philosophy.

References:

Proto.io Blog. 2020.10 Of The Best Design Philosophies Of All Time | Proto.Io Blog. [online] Available at: <https://blog.proto.io/10-of-the-best-design-philosophies-of-all-time/> [Accessed 27 March 2020].