Somehow, the notion of design has been reduced to mere aesthetical visuals by many. Design works are now been erroneously adjudged good or bad simply by the looks of things. It is such that some so-called designers now aim for the public's attention by showing how aesthetically pleasing their works are. Consequently, it has become a public perception standard upon which every designer is rated.

I come bearing bad news for those who think this way. Design is far from what you see and more than what you don’t. You see when I am told some business or organization needs a logo, I am not thinking of a bad-ass-looking symbol or text mixed; I am thinking of how whatever I come up with affects their day-to-day business activity, their perception in public, especially to their target market, how it adds to their goodwill, and so on. So, before I put pen to paper, I try to figure out exactly what problem we are trying to solve. Getting the problem wrong results in offering the wrong solution.

Design is the bridge between ideas and reality

Design does not necessarily have to be visual or graphical, it can be coming up with a sentence that passes across a clear message and positions an organization exactly where it wants to be in the minds of people, or how best to provide incentives that perfectly structure everyday social interactions to achieve desired results. The activity that happens in between coming up with such a sentence or structure is the design. The sentence and structure are just the results.

Why am I pointing this out? The public perception standard, as earlier mentioned, only believes a Designer is working when they see the designer moving pixels in front of a PC or tablet. This is far from it. Those pixels are only moving because the idea is being interpreted into reality thanks to the design. The need to be inclusive is what made empathic societies design systems and structures to cater to people with special needs for example.

Design results in everything

Why am I pointing this out? The public perception standard, as earlier mentioned, only believes a Designer is working when they see the designer moving pixels in front of a PC or tablet. This is far from it. Those pixels are only moving because the idea is being interpreted into reality thanks to the design. The need to be inclusive is what made empathic societies design systems and structures to cater to people with special needs for example.