Design and Perception

"What is design?"

This question was posed to me earlier this week. And it got me thinking, what is it exactly? Because of the broadness of the actual word, design, this poses a difficult task of pinning down a specific definition of the word and the concepts surrounding it.

The element of design exists absolutely everywhere--when sitting at a desk, being in a building, drinking out of a environmentally-friendly, aluminum water bottle, typing on a computer, and even using the bathroom. All of one’s surroundings had to be created or designed by some person at one point in time or another. And these elements are constantly making impressions on those observing them--whether consciously or subconsciously.

In today’s fast paced society, one could argue that there would be no time left for people to be truly influenced by their surroundings because of their complete involvement with school, the workplace, relationships, or playing taxi driver to screaming children. However, upon examining the comfort (or lack thereof) of lecture hall seating, the amount of lighting streaming in through a window, or the reliability of the car zig-zagging across town illustrates that we, as a society, are constantly forming opinions and are affected by the designs that surround us.

So, I know in the course of this blog I will not suddenly have an epiphany and know the exact definition of design. However, I hope I can further explore the ways that design affects our everyday lives and influences our perception of the world around us.