Design As A Conversation

What is design?

Is it an art form? An expression? A functional item? An action? A plan?

I would argue design is each of these things. In fact, design almost begs not to be tied down to one definition. There may very well be more things in this world that design is, than isn’t.

One of the things that design is, is a conversation. Usually this means a conversation between designer and consumer. Take Youtube duo Rhett and Link for example; in their quest to design what they call the “Mystical Shoe”, they asked for direct help from their audience. Viewers were able to log on to a website that allowed them to create and tweak their own shoe designs, showing each other, as well as Rhett and Link, what they would like to see on the Mystical Shoe. The final product looks like this:

http://tweakfootwear.com/Shoes/the-mythical-shoe/

This shoe features design aspects that were most prominent in the viewers’ designs: sneaker-style, hi-top, guitar-pick slot, customizable sleeve, etc. In this case, the action of design was carried out through a direct conversation between the designer and prospective buyers. The final design, the product, is an expression of that entire conversation, bundled into one shoe.

Design doesn’t always have to take place in a conversation as direct as in this example. Sometimes the action of design is purely an expression of something from within or without the designer, and the finalized product is where the actual conversation takes place. For example, the (red) line of products is designed with the needs of Africa in mind. The final product is the medium through which the designer converses with the public, telling the world about the needs of others. The consumer replies by consuming, showing support for the cause and contributing money.  

I think this ability of design to be a conversation is essential to its being. I don’t believe it is possible to create, to design without something being expressed and something being received. Without an expression of some information from the designer to the consumer, there would be nothing of substance to produce. Without the consumer’s act of receiving an expression and replying with approval by buying it, there would be no point in designing in the first place. This two way exchange, the conversation, is design, if only one of many definitions.