The Wonderful World of Design

There is a world of design to be sure for Design is everywhere and all around us. The chair we sit in ( at least, the one you are sitting in ), the computer we use, the refrigerator ( with that delicious roast chicken inside just waiting to be nibbled on ), the automobile we drive to get to a community near by ( planned ), to visit a park ( planned ), to walk through its gardens ( planned )......etc, etc.  It was all DESIGNED.

Everything began as a simple idea first, and then blossomed into a plan which in trun became a reality. Not without time and effort ( and adequent funding of course ).

But " Why? ", you might ask " need things be planned or designed at all? "..... To make Life easier. Or at least, that's what all designers should strive to achieve. The old cliche words it a mite better : to make the world a better place. 

Man began with no intention of planning his home, his community, and its everyday objects and tools he uses. But in time, certain methods, certain structures, were proven to be BETTER than others and with each subsequent generation these better forms of design were improved upon and improved upon.  Design is always evolving with the times, especially since technology keeps improving and better materials are always being developed.

Designers of all fields ( industrial, interior, architectural, urban planners ) can never exist independantly because they all rely on the knowledge and latest discoveries of other designers and engineers....that new wordworking process being developed can be of use to a furniture designer, or that newly created super-strength steel material an architect can utilize for his latest skyscraper. Each one plays off of the other to help create some thing better and more useful for all mankind. ( oh, wasn't that a pretty speech? )

Louis Sullivan wrote that "form follows function" and that indeed should be the hallmark of a designers creed. No matter how beautiful an object, house, or city may look, if it does not serve to function as well, it fails to be a good design. This is especially important in industrial design. The better the function, the better that product sells. The ornamentation of it is very important too mind you, but essentially beauty does not out perform function in sales. Design must be pleasing to the eye and serve a purpose as well.

Another well-established principle of architecture and design is RELATIONSHIP - relating the areas of structure to each other and its surrounding enviroment. A design could indeed be bold and stand-out but overtime it'll come to look dated, just like a museum piece. Designs that blend into nature stand the test of time. Making sure the interior relates to its exterior is one of the first considerations an interior designer takes into account too.

Well, I think I babbled on enough now about "theory" ( such a dry subject, don't you think? ). This blog will showcase designs of all kinds - but one thing all of these designs will have in common is that they are GOOD designs. Nice strong and stable ones. But then again, you knew that already.....who'd want to showcase bad designs anyway?