What is design?

Our world can be divided into two parts: the natural world, and the human-made world. Humans cannot design the natural world because, by definition, it occurs naturally. The natural world is beautiful and marvellous, and it would be presumptuous to think that we can improve on nature. But, humans can and do design and build the human-made world. Humans have been designing since ancient people first made tools to give them control over the natural world.

​​​​​​​We design to make the world a better place. We design tools and machines that let us build anything that we can imagine. Furthermore, we design buildings for shelter and to keep us safe and comfortable. Houses, apartment blocks, schools, shopping malls, office buildings, and civic buildings are designed for us to comfortably live, learn, shop, do business and politics. Clothing lets us survive in hot and cold weather, and is designed for different uses. There are school uniforms, dress suits, factory overalls, sports wear, and leisure wear, and so forth. We design vehicles of all types to traverse land, sea, and the air. A bicycle lets us travel a distance with ease, a car lets us travel even farther, and we can do a journey on a ship or an aeroplane that would be impossible by foot. We design computers, telephones and other electronic devices that let us calculate, create, and communicate. All of these things are designed. So are roads, bridges, ports, hospitals, cities, and everything else that is human made. Human-made things must be designed first, and then made. Most of the things that you own and that surround you are either handmade or manufactured in factories around the world. Everything that human beings make can be improved upon. When we try to change the human-made world for the better, we are designing. People who do design are called designers, engineers, and architects. There are many kinds of designers, such as fashion designers, graphic designers, interior designers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, software engineers, civil engineers, architects, and many more.
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What is design thinking?

Design thinking is a step-by-step process for designing things. It has five stages: UNDERSTAND, DECIDE, CREATE, BUILD, and TEST. Find out about the stages by reading The Design Thinking Stages Poster (III). You can use design thinking to design almost anything, such as tools, buildings, clothing, vehicles, electronic devices, computer apps, you can even design a business. Design thinking can be done by an individual, but it works best when it is done by a group of designers working together because ‘many hands make light work,’ and more brains working on a problem will lead to more plentiful and better ideas. There is no limit to what a group of designers working together can achieve. You don’t need to use design thinking to design something, but it helps because the five stages guide you, and the handouts show you how. Doing design thinking will teach you how to design, and how to solve problems, be creative and resourceful. Design thinking is very popular indeed. Designers and businesses around the world use design thinking to design every imaginable thing.
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Questions to discuss​​​​​​​

• Which things can be improved by designing?
• What do these designers design?
  • Fashion designers? Graphic designers? Interior designers? Mechanical engineers? Electrical engineers? Software engineers? Civil engineers? Architects?
• Can you think of any more kinds of designers?
• Do you know a designer? If so, what do they design?
• Do you know anything that is badly designed? Why is it so?
• Do you know anything that can be designed better?
• Is the world made a better place whenever something is designed?
• What cannot be designed?
• Should we try to improve upon nature?