Design Manifesto

  Becoming a designer is a challenge, but it is definitely worth it. Design is all about the process, and it is filled with ups and downs, successes and failures, but the journey is what makes us better designers.  In the beginning of this program, I was very unfamiliar with the concept of failing, but it did not take long for me to realize that failure in design is inevitable, and you just have to learn to not only accept it, but more so embrace it.  Understanding why one particular design doesn’t work helps to find the solution that does, and more often your failures open your eyes to totally new concepts that you hadn’t thought of before.  Beginning a new design can definitely come with its share of frustrations, but having a specific process can help, which typically starts by looking for inspiration. As designers, we view the world differently enabling us to find inspiration in everything around us.  Once I find something that inspires me, I turn to brainstorming to try and relate it to what I’m currently designing, which essentially for me means my mind is absolutely consumed with thoughts and ideas that plague me until I come up with something that I consider reasonable. Once I begin to narrow down all of my design concepts, I turn to sketching and doing, but I have learned that I am much more of a doer than a sketcher, so typically I try and create little prototypes to see if my concept is even plausible.  After numerous trial and error experiments with various materials and other things, the actual design begins to take shape and the creativity continues to flow to create the final product.  Designing for me is incredibly exhilarating as what I create impacts the world around me.  To be able to make the world a more enjoyable place to live is liberating and it is why I want to design.