Design

Design is an intentional problem-solving process focused on planning or making something for a specific use or purpose.

While “design” is often equated with graphic design or visual design, design is a vast discipline with many subdisciplines — including everything from industrial design to service design. Merriam-Webster offers one appropriately broad definition of design: “to plan and make (something) for a specific use or purpose.” Design can include tasks ranging from thinking about what color a button should be on a screen, to deciding how passengers should flow through an airport.

The authors of Visual Communication Design: An Introduction to Design Concepts in Everyday Experience suggest that professional practice of design has experienced a shift from “designing objects to designing the conditions for experience.” In recent years, user interface (UI) design and user experience (UX) design have been at the forefront of conversations about design.