Origin of word design

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb to design expresses the process of developing a design. In some cases, the direct construction of an object without an explicit prior plan (such as in craftwork, some engineering, coding, and graphic design) may also be considered to be a design activity. The design usually has to satisfy certain goals and constraints; may take into account aesthetic, functional, economic, or socio-political considerations; and is expected to interact with a certain environment. Typical examples of designs include architectural and engineering drawings, circuit diagrams, sewing patterns and less tangible artefacts such as business process models.^[1]

Designing[edit]

People who produce designs are called designers. The term ‘designer’ generally refers to someone who works professionally in one of the various design areas. Within the professions, the word ‘designer’ is generally qualified by the area of practice (so one may be, for example, a fashion designer, a product designer, a web designer, or an interior designer), but it can also designate others such as architects and engineers (see below: Types of designing). A designer’s sequence of activities to produce a design is called a design process, using design thinking and possibly design methods. The process of creating a design can be brief (a quick sketch) or lengthy and complicated, involving considerable research, negotiation, reflection, modeling, interactive adjustment, and re-design.

Designing is also a widespread activity outside of the professions, done by more people than just those formally recognised as designers. In his influential book The Sciences of the Artificial the interdisciplinary scientist Herbert A. Simon proposed that «Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones».^[2] And according to the design researcher Nigel Cross «Everyone can – and does – design», and «Design ability is something that everyone has, to some extent, because it is embedded in our brains as a natural cognitive function».^[3]

History of design[edit]

Study of the history of design is complicated by varying interpretations of what constitutes ‘designing’. Many design historians, such as John Heskett, start with the Industrial Revolution and the development of mass production.^[4] Others subscribe to conceptions of design that include pre-industrial objects and artefacts, beginning their narratives of design in prehistorical times.^[5] Originally situated within art history, the historical development of the discipline of design history coalesced in the 1970s, as interested academics worked to recognize design as a separate and legitimate target for historical research.^[6] Early influential design historians include German-British art historian Nikolaus Pevsner and Swiss historian and architecture critic Sigfried Giedion.

Design education[edit]

Institutions for design education date back to the nineteenth century. The Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry was founded in 1818, followed by the United Kingdom’s Government School of Design (1837), Konstfack in Sweden (1844), and Rhode Island School of Design in the United States (1877). The German art and design school Bauhaus, founded in 1919, greatly influenced modern design education.^[7]

Design education covers the teaching of theory, knowledge and values in the design of products, services and environments, and focusses on the development of both particular and general skills for designing. It is primarily orientated to preparing students for professional design practice, and based around project work and studio or atelier teaching methods.

There are also broader forms of higher education in design studies and design thinking, and design also features as a part of general education, for example within Design and Technology. The development of design in general education in the 1970s led to a need to identify fundamental aspects of ‘designerly’ ways of knowing, thinking and acting, and hence to the establishment of design as a distinct discipline of study.^[8]

Design process[edit]

Substantial disagreement exists concerning how designers in many fields, whether amateur or professional, alone or in teams, produce designs.^[9] Design researchers Dorst and Dijkhuis acknowledge that «there are many ways of describing design processes», and compare and contrast two dominant but different views of the design process: as a rational problem solving process and as a process of reflection-in-action. They suggested that these two paradigms «represent two fundamentally different ways of looking at the world – positivism and constructionism».^[10] The paradigms may reflect differing views of how designing should be done and how it actually is done, and they both have a variety of names. The problem-solving view has been called «the rational model»,^[11] «technical rationality»^[12] and «the reason-centric perspective».^[13] The alternative view has been called «reflection-in-action»,^[12] «co-evolution»,^[14] and «the action-centric perspective».^[13]

Rational model[edit]

The rational model was independently developed by Herbert A. Simon,^[15][16] an American scientist, and two German engineering design theorists, Gerhard Pahl and Wolfgang Beitz.^[17] It posits that:

1. Designers attempt to optimize a design candidate for known constraints and objectives.
2. The design process is plan-driven.
3. The design process is understood in terms of a discrete sequence of stages.

The rational model is based on a rationalist philosophy^[11] and underlies the waterfall model,^[18] systems development life cycle,^[19] and much of the engineering design literature.^[20] According to the rationalist philosophy, design is informed by research and knowledge in a predictable and controlled manner.^[21]

Typical stages consistent with the rational model include the following:^[22]

• Pre-production design
  • Design brief – initial statement of intended outcome.
  • Analysis – analysis of design goals.
  • Research – investigating similar design solutions in the field or related topics.
  • Specification – specifying requirements of a design solution for a product (product design specification)^[23] or service.
  • Problem solving – conceptualizing and documenting design solutions.
  • Presentation – presenting design solutions.
• Design during production.
  • Development – continuation and improvement of a designed solution.
  • Product testing – in situ testing of a designed solution.
• Post-production design feedback for future designs.
  • Implementation – introducing the designed solution into the environment.
  • Evaluation and conclusion – summary of process and results, including constructive criticism and suggestions for future improvements.
• Redesign – any or all stages in the design process repeated (with corrections made) at any time before, during, or after production.

Each stage has many associated best practices.^[24]

Criticism of the rational model[edit]

The rational model has been widely criticized on two primary grounds:

1. Designers do not work this way – extensive empirical evidence has demonstrated that designers do not act as the rational model suggests.^[12][13][25]
2. Unrealistic assumptions – goals are often unknown when a design project begins, and the requirements and constraints continue to change.^[11][26]

Action-centric model[edit]

The action-centric perspective is a label given to a collection of interrelated concepts, which are antithetical to the rational model.^[13] It posits that:

1. Designers use creativity and emotion to generate design candidates.
2. The design process is improvised.
3. No universal sequence of stages is apparent – analysis, design and implementation are contemporary and inextricably linked.^[13]

The action-centric perspective is based on an empiricist philosophy and broadly consistent with the agile approach^[27] and methodical development.^[28] Substantial empirical evidence supports the veracity of this perspective in describing the actions of real designers.^[25] Like the rational model, the action-centric model sees design as informed by research and knowledge.^[29]

At least two views of design activity are consistent with the action-centric perspective. Both involve these three basic activities:

• In the reflection-in-action paradigm, designers alternate between «framing», «making moves», and «evaluating moves». «Framing» refers to conceptualizing the problem, i.e., defining goals and objectives. A «move» is a tentative design decision. The evaluation process may lead to further moves in the design.^[12]
• In the sensemaking–coevolution–implementation framework, designers alternate between its three titular activities. Sensemaking includes both framing and evaluating moves. Implementation is the process of constructing the design object. Coevolution is «the process where the design agent simultaneously refines its mental picture of the design object based on its mental picture of the context, and vice versa».^[13]

The concept of the design cycle is understood as a circular time structure,^[30] which may start with the thinking of an idea, then expressing it by the use of visual or verbal means of communication (design tools), the sharing and perceiving of the expressed idea, and finally starting a new cycle with the critical rethinking of the perceived idea. Anderson points out that this concept emphasizes the importance of the means of expression, which at the same time are means of perception of any design ideas.^[31]

Philosophies[edit]

Philosophy of design is the study of definitions of design, and the assumptions, foundations, and implications of design. There are also many informal ‘philosophies’ for guiding design such as personal values or preferred approaches.

Approaches to design[edit]

Some of these values and approaches include:

• Critical design uses designed artifacts as an embodied critique or commentary on existing values, morals, and practices in a culture.
• Ecological design is a design approach that prioritizes the consideration of the environmental impacts of a product or service, over its whole lifecycle.^[32][33]
• Participatory design (originally co-operative design, now often co-design) is the practice of collective creativity to design, attempting to actively involve all stakeholders (e.g. employees, partners, customers, citizens, end-users) in the design process to help ensure the result meets their needs and is usable.^[34]
• Scientific design refers to industrialised design based on scientific knowledge.^[35] Science can be used to study the effects and need for a potential or existing product in general and to design products that are based on scientific knowledge. For instance, a scientific design of face masks for COVID-19 mitigation may be based on investigations of filtration performance, mitigation performance,^[36][37] thermal comfort, biodegradability and flow resistance.^[38][39]
• Service design designing or organizing the experience around a product and the service associated with a product’s use.
• Sociotechnical system design, a philosophy and tools for participative designing of work arrangements and supporting processes – for organizational purpose, quality, safety, economics, and customer requirements in core work processes, the quality of peoples experience at work, and the needs of society.
• Transgenerational design, the practice of making products and environments compatible with those physical and sensory impairments associated with human aging and which limit major activities of daily living.
• User-centered design, which focuses on the needs, wants, and limitations of the end-user of the designed artifact. One aspect of user-centered design is ergonomics.

Relationship with the arts[edit]

The boundaries between art and design are blurry, largely due to a range of applications both for the term ‘art’ and the term ‘design’. Applied arts can include industrial design, graphic design, fashion design, and the decorative arts which traditionally includes craft objects. In graphic arts (2D image making that ranges from photography to illustration), the distinction is often made between fine art and commercial art, based on the context within which the work is produced and how it is traded.

Types of designing[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Raizman, David Seth (12 November 2003). The History of Modern Design. Pearson. ISBN 978-0131830400.

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English designen, from Old French designer, from Latin designō (“I mark out, point out, describe, design, contrive”), from de- (or dis-) + signō (“I mark”), from signum (“mark”). Doublet of designate.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /dɪˈzaɪn/
• Hyphenation: de‧sign
• Rhymes: -aɪn

Noun[edit]

design (countable and uncountable, plural designs)

1. A specification of an object or process, referring to requirements to be satisfied and thus conditions to be met for them to solve a problem.
2. A plan (with more or less detail) for the structure and functions of an artifact, building or system.

   The initial design of the park was rejected for being too expensive.

3. A pattern, as an element of a work of art or architecture.

   We’re working on some new designs for our range of summer shirts

4. The composition of a work of art.
5. Intention or plot.

   We have designs on winning the league next season.

   To be hateful of the truth by design.

   • 1763, Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz, History of Louisisana (PG), p. 40:

     I give it you without any other design than to shew you that I reckon nothing dear to me, when I want to do you a pleasure.

   • 1762, Charles Johnstone, The Reverie; or, A Flight to the Paradise of Fools‎^[1], volume 2, Dublin: Printed by Dillon Chamberlaine, →OCLC, page 202:

     At length, one night, when the company by ſome accident broke up much ſooner than ordinary, ſo that the candles were not half burnt out, ſhe was not able to reſiſt the temptation, but reſolved to have them ſome way or other. Accordingly, as ſoon as the hurry was over, and the ſervants, as ſhe thought, all gone to ſleep, ſhe ſtole out of her bed, and went down ſtairs, naked to her ſhift as ſhe was, with a deſign to ſteal them […]

   • 2011 June 28, Piers Newbery, “Wimbledon 2011: Sabine Lisicki beats Marion Bartoli”, in BBC Sport‎^[2]:

     Lisicki will rise from her current ranking of 62 to at least 35 in the world on the back of her efforts at the All England Club, but she will have serious designs on a first Grand Slam title after overcoming the 2007 runner-up.

   1. (particularly) Malicious or malevolent intention.

      To have evil designs.

6. The shape or appearance given to an object, especially one that is intended to make it more attractive.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess‎^[3]:

     He turned back to the scene before him and the enormous new block of council dwellings. The design was some way after Corbusier but the block was built up on plinths and resembled an Atlantic liner swimming diagonally across the site.

7. The art of designing

   Danish furniture design is world-famous.

Synonyms[edit]

• (plan): See Thesaurus:diagram
• (intention): See Thesaurus:design

Hyponyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

design (third-person singular simple present designs, present participle designing, simple past and past participle designed)

1. (transitive) To plan and carry out (a picture, work of art, construction etc.). [from 17th c.]

   • 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:

     She designed his retirement from the Royal Irish Artillery, and had negociated an immediate berth for him on the Staff of the Commander of the Forces, and a prospective one in the household of Lord Townshend […]

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess‎^[4]:

     The huge square box, parquet-floored and high-ceilinged, had been arranged to display a suite of bedroom furniture designed and made in the halcyon days of the last quarter of the nineteenth century, when modish taste was just due to go clean out of fashion for the best part of the next hundred years.

2. (obsolete, intransitive) To plan (to do something).

   The king designed to mount an expedition to the New World.

3. (obsolete, transitive) To assign, appoint (something to someone); to designate. [16th–19th c.]
   • 1700, John Dryden, Translations from Ovid’s Epistles, Preface

     He was designed to the study of the law.

4. (obsolete, transitive) To mark out and exhibit; to designate; to indicate; to show; to point out; to appoint.
5. To manifest requirements to be satisfied by an object or process for them to solve a problem.

   • 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

     We shall see / Justice design the victor’s chivalry.

   • 1616–1619 (first performance)​, John Fletcher; Philip Massinger; Nathan Field, “The Knight of Malta”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act I, scene iii:

     Meet me to-morrow where the master / And this fraternity shall design.

Derived terms[edit]

• a camel is a horse designed by a committee
• designable
• designed
• designedly
• designer
• foredesign
• outdesign
• overdesign
• predesign
• redesign
• undesignable
• undesigned
• undesignedly

Translations[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• design in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “design”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• design at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams[edit]

• Edgins, deigns, dinges, gnides, nidges, sdeign, signed, singed

Czech[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): [ˈdɪzajn]

Noun[edit]

design m

1. design

Declension[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• design in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu
• design in Akademický slovník cizích slov, 1995, at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English design.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /diˈzɑi̯n/
• Hyphenation: de‧sign

Noun[edit]

design n (plural designs)

1. design

Synonyms[edit]

• ontwerp

Finnish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English design.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈdisɑi̯n/, [ˈdis̠ɑi̯n]

Noun[edit]

design

1. design

   Synonym: suunnittelu

Declension[edit]

Inflection of design (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative	design	designit
genitive	designin	designien
partitive	designia	designeja
illative	designiin	designeihin
	singular	plural
nominative	design	designit
accusative	nom.	design	designit
gen.	designin
genitive	designin	designien
partitive	designia	designeja
inessive	designissa	designeissa
elative	designista	designeista
illative	designiin	designeihin
adessive	designilla	designeilla
ablative	designilta	designeilta
allative	designille	designeille
essive	designina	designeina
translative	designiksi	designeiksi
instructive	—	designein
abessive	designitta	designeitta
comitative	See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of design (type risti)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative designini designini accusative nom. designini designini gen. designini genitive designini designieni partitive designiani designejani inessive designissani designeissani elative designistani designeistani illative designiini designeihini adessive designillani designeillani ablative designiltani designeiltani allative designilleni designeilleni essive designinani designeinani translative designikseni designeikseni instructive — — abessive designittani designeittani comitative — designeineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative designisi designisi accusative nom. designisi designisi gen. designisi genitive designisi designiesi partitive designiasi designejasi inessive designissasi designeissasi elative designistasi designeistasi illative designiisi designeihisi adessive designillasi designeillasi ablative designiltasi designeiltasi allative designillesi designeillesi essive designinasi designeinasi translative designiksesi designeiksesi instructive — — abessive designittasi designeittasi comitative — designeinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative designimme designimme accusative nom. designimme designimme gen. designimme genitive designimme designiemme partitive designiamme designejamme inessive designissamme designeissamme elative designistamme designeistamme illative designiimme designeihimme adessive designillamme designeillamme ablative designiltamme designeiltamme allative designillemme designeillemme essive designinamme designeinamme translative designiksemme designeiksemme instructive — — abessive designittamme designeittamme comitative — designeinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative designinne designinne accusative nom. designinne designinne gen. designinne genitive designinne designienne partitive designianne designejanne inessive designissanne designeissanne elative designistanne designeistanne illative designiinne designeihinne adessive designillanne designeillanne ablative designiltanne designeiltanne allative designillenne designeillenne essive designinanne designeinanne translative designiksenne designeiksenne instructive — — abessive designittanne designeittanne comitative — designeinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative designinsa designinsa accusative nom. designinsa designinsa gen. designinsa genitive designinsa designiensa partitive designiaan designiansa designejaan designejansa inessive designissaan designissansa designeissaan designeissansa elative designistaan designistansa designeistaan designeistansa illative designiinsa designeihinsa adessive designillaan designillansa designeillaan designeillansa ablative designiltaan designiltansa designeiltaan designeiltansa allative designilleen designillensa designeilleen designeillensa essive designinaan designinansa designeinaan designeinansa translative designikseen designiksensa designeikseen designeiksensa instructive — — abessive designittaan designittansa designeittaan designeittansa comitative — designeineen designeinensa

or

Inflection of design (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative	design	designit
genitive	designin	designien
partitive	designiä	designejä
illative	designiin	designeihin
	singular	plural
nominative	design	designit
accusative	nom.	design	designit
gen.	designin
genitive	designin	designien
partitive	designiä	designejä
inessive	designissä	designeissä
elative	designistä	designeistä
illative	designiin	designeihin
adessive	designillä	designeillä
ablative	designiltä	designeiltä
allative	designille	designeille
essive	designinä	designeinä
translative	designiksi	designeiksi
instructive	—	designein
abessive	designittä	designeittä
comitative	See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of design (type risti)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative designini designini accusative nom. designini designini gen. designini genitive designini designieni partitive designiäni designejäni inessive designissäni designeissäni elative designistäni designeistäni illative designiini designeihini adessive designilläni designeilläni ablative designiltäni designeiltäni allative designilleni designeilleni essive designinäni designeinäni translative designikseni designeikseni instructive — — abessive designittäni designeittäni comitative — designeineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative designisi designisi accusative nom. designisi designisi gen. designisi genitive designisi designiesi partitive designiäsi designejäsi inessive designissäsi designeissäsi elative designistäsi designeistäsi illative designiisi designeihisi adessive designilläsi designeilläsi ablative designiltäsi designeiltäsi allative designillesi designeillesi essive designinäsi designeinäsi translative designiksesi designeiksesi instructive — — abessive designittäsi designeittäsi comitative — designeinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative designimme designimme accusative nom. designimme designimme gen. designimme genitive designimme designiemme partitive designiämme designejämme inessive designissämme designeissämme elative designistämme designeistämme illative designiimme designeihimme adessive designillämme designeillämme ablative designiltämme designeiltämme allative designillemme designeillemme essive designinämme designeinämme translative designiksemme designeiksemme instructive — — abessive designittämme designeittämme comitative — designeinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative designinne designinne accusative nom. designinne designinne gen. designinne genitive designinne designienne partitive designiänne designejänne inessive designissänne designeissänne elative designistänne designeistänne illative designiinne designeihinne adessive designillänne designeillänne ablative designiltänne designeiltänne allative designillenne designeillenne essive designinänne designeinänne translative designiksenne designeiksenne instructive — — abessive designittänne designeittänne comitative — designeinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative designinsä designinsä accusative nom. designinsä designinsä gen. designinsä genitive designinsä designiensä partitive designiään designiänsä designejään designejänsä inessive designissään designissänsä designeissään designeissänsä elative designistään designistänsä designeistään designeistänsä illative designiinsä designeihinsä adessive designillään designillänsä designeillään designeillänsä ablative designiltään designiltänsä designeiltään designeiltänsä allative designilleen designillensä designeilleen designeillensä essive designinään designinänsä designeinään designeinänsä translative designikseen designiksensä designeikseen designeiksensä instructive — — abessive designittään designittänsä designeittään designeittänsä comitative — designeineen designeinensä

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English design. Doublet of dessein.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /di.zajn/

Noun[edit]

design m (plural designs)

1. design

Hungarian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• dizájn

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English design, from Latin designō (“I mark out, describe, plan”).

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): [ˈdizaːjn]
• Hyphenation: de‧sign
• Rhymes: -aːjn

Noun[edit]

design (plural designok)

1. design (art and profession of designing functional objects such as furniture, vehicles, household appliances, etc.)

   Synonym: formatervezés

Declension[edit]

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	design	designok
accusative	designt	designokat
dative	designnak	designoknak
instrumental	designnal	designokkal
causal-final	designért	designokért
translative	designná	designokká
terminative	designig	designokig
essive-formal	designként	designokként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	designban	designokban
superessive	designon	designokon
adessive	designnál	designoknál
illative	designba	designokba
sublative	designra	designokra
allative	designhoz	designokhoz
elative	designból	designokból
delative	designról	designokról
ablative	designtól	designoktól
non-attributive possessive — singular	designé	designoké
non-attributive possessive — plural	designéi	designokéi

Possessive forms of design
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	designom	designjaim
2nd person sing.	designod	designjaid
3rd person sing.	designja	designjai
1st person plural	designunk	designjaink
2nd person plural	designotok	designjaitok
3rd person plural	designjuk	designjaik

Italian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English design.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /deˈzajn/^[1]
• Rhymes: -ajn

Noun[edit]

design m (invariable)

1. design (industrial)

References[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

• sdegni

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Verb[edit]

design

1. imperative of designe

Polish[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• dizajn

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English design, from Middle English designen, from Old French designer, from Latin dēsignō.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈdi.zajn/
• Rhymes: -izajn
• Syllabification: de‧sign
• Homophone: dizajn

Noun[edit]

design m inan

1. (design) design (plan of usable objects)

   Synonym: wzornictwo

2. (design) design (appearance of usable objects)

   Hypernym: wygląd

Declension[edit]

[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• design in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• design in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English design. Doublet of desenhar and designar.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

design m (plural designs)

1. design (plan for the structure and functions of an object or system)

   Synonyms: projeto, desenho

2. design (aesthetically pleasing shape or appearance of an object)
3. design (the art of designing aesthetically pleasing things)

Romanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English design.

Noun[edit]

design n (uncountable)

1. design

Declension[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English design.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /dɛˈsajn/

Noun[edit]

design c

1. a design

Declension[edit]

Declension of design
	Singular	Plural
Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	design	designen	designer	designerna
Genitive	designs	designens	designers	designernas

[edit]

• designa
• designer
• designpris

Anagrams[edit]

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ARTS & CULTURE — Fine Art

Have You Ever Wondered…

• Is design a science or an art?
• What is the origin of the word “design»?
• How does good design combine science and art?

Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by pierre. pierre Wonders, “Is design a science or an art?” Thanks for WONDERing with us, pierre!

Are you a fan of design? You’ve probably heard the word many times. Maybe it makes you think of the style of your clothes or the cover of your favorite book. Have you ever dreamed of designing things yourself? Maybe you already make works of art with unique designs.

But what exactly does design mean? It’s not easy to pin down. Design is a broad term that means many things to many people. The word came from Italian (disegno) and French (dessin) words that both mean “a drawing.”

In many instances, a work of art or a new product starts with exactly that: a drawing. A creator starts by sketching out what they think the final product should look like. That’s true no matter what they’re designing—from a new piece of clothing to the latest gadget.

The best designs, though, focus on much more than just appearance. The artistry of how a product looks can be very important. Still, success will depend upon how well the product works. To make sure a product does well, careful thought must be given to both its function and its features.

Thinking about a product’s function will help a creator decide which materials to use. It will also help them determine how the function can be reflected in the product’s form. The process calls for as much science as it does art.

In fact, some experts believe that the best designs are those that combine science and art. For years, many people have thought that the sciences and the arts were quite different. However, modern thinkers believe that the two must be combined to keep innovation flowing.

If you think about it, that makes sense. The most beautiful product in the world won’t be useful unless it functions the way it’s supposed to. And the most useful products might be overlooked unless art plays a role. It can go a long way toward making them appealing to users.

You can see this in the world of smartphones. There are many choices in the marketplace with all sorts of different functions. The best smartphones, though, are those that combine those functions with a pleasing form.

Some educators are seeking to incorporate this dual view of science and the arts in schools. In some areas, the traditional STEM subjects—science, technology, engineering, and math—are now called STEAM subjects. This reflects inclusion of the arts.

Interestingly, this all isn’t really a new idea. Some of history’s most influential figures from the past were both accomplished artists and scientists. They used their artistic talents to help them understand the scientific principles at work in the world around them. One example is Leonardo Da Vinci. His drawings show that he fully understood the unique combination of art and science and how important it was to innovative thinking!

Are you an artist? If so, learning about science and math could help you with your designs. And vice versa! As we’ve learned here today, design is both an art and a science.

Standards:

CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.SL.1, CCRA.W.2, CCRA.L.1, CCRA.L.2, NCAS.A.1, NCAS.A.2, NCAS.A.3

Wonder What’s Next?

Fly on over to Wonderopolis tomorrow for an all-new feathery Wonder of the Day!

Try It Out

Ready to combine art and science to take your learning about design to the next level? Find a friend or family member to help you explore one or more of the following activities:

• Ready to try your hand at design? Get some crayons, colored pencils, or markers, as well as some blank paper, and get to work. On what? We want you to draw a simple design of the car of the future. What will it look like? What features will it have? What can you do in terms of design to make the car of the future as aerodynamic as possible? Can you design it to be fuel efficient? What about its appearance? How can you design the car of the future to make it as attractive to potential buyers as possible? Have fun combining your best thinking about art and science into a unique design all your own.
• How does the design of a product affect your desire to own and use it? Take a field trip to a local store to check out a product that has tons of different designs: the cell phone. Make sure you have an adult go along with you. Spend some time just perusing the various types of cell phones available today. How do their designs differ? Make a list of the design elements that really catch your eye. Do you like larger screens? Thinner cases? Buttons or touch screens? Talk about these differences in design with an adult. What kind of thinking went into various design choices? Can you identify design elements that seem to be mainly inspired by art? What about others inspired mainly by science?
• Up for a challenge? Based upon what you learned in today’s Wonder of the Day and your personal experiences with design, create an original work that explains your thoughts on the importance of art vs. science in good design. Your work could be an essay or a journal entry. It could also be a multimedia presentation. Or you could design a collage that combines different elements in a unique way that helps to explain your thoughts on art, science, and design. Be as creative as you can be.

Wonder Sources

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/nov/14/my-bright-idea-john-maeda (accessed 09 Dec. 2020)
• http://gutschow.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/design-is-art-or-science/ (accessed 09 Dec. 2020)
• http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/science/27angi.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 (accessed 09 Dec. 2020)
• http://blog.timesunion.com/marketing/good-design-more-science-than-art/3304/ (accessed 09 Dec. 2020)

Did you get it?

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Wonder Contributors

We’d like to thank:

markese and Angel
for contributing questions about today’s Wonder topic!

Keep WONDERing with us!

What are you wondering?

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educalingo

I don’t start with a design objective, I start with a communication objective. I feel my project is successful if it communicates what it is supposed to communicate.

Mike Davidson

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD DESIGN

From Latin dēsignāre to mark out, describe, from de- + signāre to mark, from signum a mark, sign.

PRONUNCIATION OF DESIGN

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF DESIGN

Design is a verb and can also act as a noun.

WHAT DOES DESIGN MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of design in the English dictionary

The first definition of design in the dictionary is to work out the structure or form of, as by making a sketch, outline, pattern, or plans. Other definition of design is to plan and make artistically or skilfully. Design is also to form or conceive in the mind; invent.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO DESIGN

PRESENT

PAST

FUTURE

CONDITIONAL

IMPERATIVE

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH DESIGN

SYNONYMS OF «DESIGN»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «design» and belong to the same grammatical category.

TRANSLATION OF DESIGN

Find out the translation of design to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «DESIGN»

The term «design» is very widely used and occupies the 459 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of design

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «DESIGN» OVER TIME

10 QUOTES WITH «DESIGN»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word design.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «DESIGN»

Discover the use of design in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to design and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «DESIGN»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term design is used in the context of the following news items.

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Design [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/design>. Apr 2023 ».

What is the origin of design?

What is the origin of design thinking?

Design thinking is created not only because Tim Brown coined the word that became a buzzword. Design thinking is created because big corporation lack the ability to be creative and on extreme cases, aren’t able to create new products and services that meet unmet needs of their customers. …

Who coined the original term for design?

When Henry Wotton used the word more than half a century later, two things happened. First, he brought to his usage an inflection from the word “disegno” that he too on his Italian travels. Second, he introduced to the English language a new flavor of the word design based on this inflection.

What is design design?

Definition and key concepts. Generally speaking, it is the process of envisioning and planning the creation of objects, interactive systems, buildings, vehicles, etc . It user-centered, i.e. users are at the heart of the design thinking approach.

When did design thinking started?

At IDEO, we’ve been practicing human-centered design since our beginning in 1978 , and took up the phrase “design thinking” to describe the elements of the practice we found most learnable and teachable—empathy, optimism, iteration, creative confidence, experimentation, and an embrace of ambiguity and failure.

Where did the concept of Design Thinking come from?

Computer scientist and Nobel Prize laureate Herbert A. Simon was the first to mention design as a science or way of thinking in his 1969 book, Sciences of the Artificial. The notion also appeared in Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering Robert H. McKim’s 1973 book, Experiences in Visual Thinking .

Who introduced Design Thinking?

IDEO is often credited with inventing the term “design thinking” and its practice.

Who is the father of Design Thinking?

2. Lessons from the father of Design Thinking: Dance with ambiguity. If you’ve heard of Design Thinking before, you’ve probably heard of Larry Leifer as well. He is the founding director of the Stanford Center for Design Research and basically the inventor of Design Thinking.

Where did Design Thinking originate Why was something like this necessary?

Design thinking started out as a process for creating sleek new technology and products . But this methodology is now widely used across both the private and public sectors, for business and personal projects, all around the world. Design-thinking methodology was popularized by design consulting firm IDEO.

Who invented the word design?

1580s, «a scheme or plan in the mind,» from French desseign, desseing «purpose, project, design,» from the verb in French (see design (v.)). Especially «an intention to act in some particular way,» often to do something harmful or illegal (1704); compare designing.

Where did the word design originate?

It’s said that the word “design” comes from the Latin word designare . Designare is said to have meant to draw a plan. For this reason, it is thought that the word design initially was used in this sense of a plan on paper. In fact, the characters used to write the word for design in Chinese have this meaning.

How does Flusser define design?

Flusser argues that once we become aware of design—as deceptive, and bridging art and technology—art and technology are demystified , i.e. de-signified (stripped of their “value” or significance, i.e. their “truth [meaning] and authenticity [aura]”; cf.

How did design started?

This form of design intelligence developed gradually starting about 2.5 million years ago as early hominids learned to improve upon the shape of naturally occurring rocks with no clearly preconceived mental templates about the final shape.

What is design simple words?

Design is a visual look or a shape given to a certain object , in order to make it more attractive, make it more comfortable or to improve another characteristic. … Design is also a concept used to create an object (virtual or not). Design is picturing things using the imagination; as to using perception or memory.

What are the 4 types of design?

I tend to divide design into three main types: product, interface, and visual . …

What is design and its types?

The purpose of design is much more closely linked to strategy than aesthetics. Design is the process of intentionally creating something while simultaneously considering it’s objective (purpose), function, economics, sociocultural factors, AND aesthetics.

What is the main purpose of design?

The five stages of Design Thinking, according to d.school, are as follows: Empathise, Define (the problem), Ideate, Prototype, and Test . Let’s take a closer look at the five different stages of Design Thinking. Jan 2, 2021

5 Stages in the Design Thinking Process | Interaction Design …

https://www.interaction-design.org › literature › article › 5… https://www.interaction-design.org › literature › article › 5…

What is the origin of design thinking?

Design thinking is created not only because Tim Brown coined the word that became a buzzword. Design thinking is created because big corporation lack the ability to be creative and on extreme cases, aren’t able to create new products and services that meet unmet needs of their customers. …

Who first described design thinking?

The 1970s. Computer scientist and Nobel Prize laureate Herbert A. Simon was the first to mention design as a science or way of thinking in his 1969 book, Sciences of the Artificial.

When did design thinking small?

In 60’s America , professions like industrial design and product design made their first small steps to distance themselves from engineering and the sciences. They didn’t get very far.

What is design thinking theory?

The Design Thinking/Design Theory series seeks to develop vital conversations to help designers and researchers serve business, industry, and the public sector for positive social and economic outcomes. This series explores strategic design as an opportunity to create value through innovative products and services.