The activity of design

Much has been written about design and how designers do or should think, but there appears to be no absolute agreement on the nature of creativity or any universally applicable methodology for approaching design. Creativity can take an abstract form with or without obvious meaning, as in the work of the artist who produces extraordinary or unexpected work. It can also describe ‘lateral thinking’ as a means of solving problems, perhaps leading to innovatory solutions which had not been seen, noticed or recognised previously. Creativity may have nothing to do with innovation at all, but simply a competent, well-organised attempt to produce an obvious, workable solution to a problem which attracts little or no attention. At its most basic level, creativity can just be the act of making anything, which may be good, average or poor.

Teachers and practitioners in different design disciplines all have their own ways and means, and ultimately the commissioned designer must respond to the specific challenges of creating the project in hand on his or her own. Their techniques and styles are based on their own experience of success, and regretfully sometimes of failure. It is important to recognise the impact of success or failure of design on those for whom the design is intended. For some products, it is appropriate that they should be innovative and fresh to momentarily ‘catch the eye’ of users, to become obsolete intentionally, maybe by mutual agreement as sales, fashion and technology dictate, but for others, a well understood, tried and tested solution will better satisfy long-term needs. Building design falls somewhere between the two; innovation is fine so long as it is relatively practicable (it may be said to ‘work’), and something that works is fine so long as it is reasonably attractive. A critically acclaimed building can be a disaster to its regular occupants whilst an ordinary, unnoticed building can be the source of great pleasure. There are pros and cons to taking a conservative or a radical approach to building design depending on a variety of circumstances, but the success or failure of any building imposes significant long-term consequences on its users, which cannot be dismissed lightly.

Before considering specific issues associated with new buildings, it may be helpful to consider what design may mean and what the process of design may involve. There are similarities in the ingredients of all forms of design and in the way that they can be handled to create a product. Very few products are designed in isolation in the hope that someone will like them. Even the artist working to satisfy him or herself achieving public recognition or professional acclaim, generally needs to sell their work or gain income from exhibitions. The aim of most commercial designers is to satisfy the consumers of their products, who select them because they are useful, attractive and/or economical. In a commercial context it is the consumer who judges the success or failure of the product and their level of expectation is crucial. Competition and market forces mean that product designers must have an even higher level of expectation than their consumers in order, if possible to continue to create better products than their consumers were anticipating.