“Designing is not a profession but an attitude” is an excerpt from László Moholy-Nagy’s 1947 book “Vision in Motion.”
The designer must see the periphery as well as the core, the immediate and the ultimate, at least in the biological sense. He must anchor his special job in the complex whole. The designer must be trained not only in the use of materials and various skills, but also in appreciation of organic functions and planning. He must know that design is indivisible, that the internal and external characteristics of a dish, a chair, a table, a machine, painting, sculpture are not to be separated…
There is design in organization of emotional experiences, in family life, in labor relations, in city planning, in working together as civilized human beings. Ultimately all problems of design merge into one great problem: ‘design for life’.
We often put “designers” and “creatives” in special silos. But when you look at it from this “design for life” perspective, everyone is designing: writers, programmers, managers, CEOs, HR departments, parents, etc. Design and creativity don’t belong exclusively to people who use Photoshop.
Related: László Moholy-Nagy’s visual representation of Finnegan’s Wake
GeeIWonder
on 13 May 08Does this seem like self-gratification (putting it nicely) to anyone else?
He must anchor his special job in the complex whole.
I mean c’mon, Freud would have a field day with that one.
Nollind Whachell
on 13 May 08“Ultimately all problems of design merge into one great problem: ‘design for life.”
I like to look at it from the viewpoint of “Life in Design” (which I use as the subtitle for my site). All of us, no matter who we are or what we do are constantly striving to better design the various aspects of our lives one day at a time, bit by bit. I mean that’s what evolution is, ongoing design in motion. It’s all those small changes over time that add up to something really big (which equates quite closely to the Getting Real approach to work which is a much more natural approach).
Danny de wit
on 13 May 08I agree completely. It’s a way of thinking and acting in relation to a certain process.
The same goes for entrepreneurship in my opinion. I call it a lifestyle, not an attitude, but the idea is much a like.
http://www.exvo.com/NL/nl-NL/entrepreneurship/think-again/2008/02/11/entrepreneurship-is-a-lifestyle
Alexis Perrier
on 13 May 08Isn’t it related somehow to what is called a “renaissance man”. Someone who excels in a wide variety of subjects. It has always struck me as weird every time I heard some manager say “Ill leave the idea part to my creative guys” As if being creative is reserved to certain persons; implying the others (developers for instance) cannot be creative or worse should not try. We are all potential renaissance men and women. It’s a matter of giving it a try.
Matt
on 13 May 08I find it fascinating to read works from well respected early to mid-century architects / industrial designers and their holistic approach to design. To them, design was about solving problems first. Aesthetics was a byproduct of how they solved the problem but never the driving force for making something.
I just finished reading The Design of Modern Design, a great biography on George Nelson, and he shared similar views on design that are definitely applicable today.
Tim Walker
on 13 May 08Good quote, Matt. To my mind, the most important thing here is your own observation: “everyone is designing.”
That’s the thing: everyone IS designing, all the time. Whether we realize it or not, whether we’re willing to take responsibility for it, we ARE designing all the time.
What this means, by extension, is that when the things in our life are ugly, dumb, high-friction, et cetera . . . it’s at least partly our own damn fault.
When I can manage to think this way, it puts the ball back in my own court - where it belongs - and encourages me to take that responsibility. Which I think would please Moholy-Nagy.
Keith
on 13 May 08It is refreshing to see a return to focus on design as a relationship between function and form. My observation of what Flash “New Media Designers” did in the late 90’s and earlier part of this decade is that they worked exclusively from form largely ignoring function. Singling out Flash is an easy target, but there are correlations to the tidalwave of grunge typeface enthusiasts and “Web 2.0” web designs replete with their pastels, gradients, and giant rounded corners on everything.
Function, most specifically for Moholy-Nagy, is the creation of a economy of materials and function that take into consideration both the core functionality and the environment in which is must live.
Tor Løvskogen
on 13 May 08The ultimate exercise for a designer, is to make the design execute great functionality, while still having pleasing aesthetics.
Peter Urban
on 13 May 08Design = Creating.
We all create all the time.
(Now let me get back to create more…)
Dan
on 13 May 08Well, I guess you could say that we are all designing all the time, but the type of “design” that ‘everyone’ does is too often just simple beautification rather than problem-solving that adds value and brings something new to the world. Martha Stewart and Home Depot have worked hard to teach the world that anyone can be a designer, but they are only selling tools, color-by-numbers kits, and throw-pillows in 7 shades of green.
Design has to be a true ‘renaissance man’ sense of design. Anything else is probably just short-term planning, half-assed decision-making, or simple beautification. Design is holistic problem-solving; it is logical, practical, and aesthetically pleasing in a contextual, holistic way. If not, then you are just working in the realm of art, commercialism, crafts, or sales, but not an act of designing.
Derek Sunshine
on 13 May 08At first, I thought it you replaced the words “designer” with “samurai” and “design” with “bushido”, you’d end up with dialog from Ghost Dog. We’re all samurai even if we don’t have swords, right?
I’m actually finding that folks in developed societies are moving away from any type of design and just becoming consumers. They want something pretty to wear, something good to eat and a pill to manage their unruly kids. Fewer and fewer endeavor to make anything new or solve a problem in a way that someone hasn’t already figured out. In business, they want a consultant to tell them what to do and some contractor to build it.
So yeah, designers (or innovators or artists) have a different viewpoint on things. While I think everyone has some capability for design thinking, fewer and fewer people bother to use it.
James Higgs
on 14 May 08Nit pick alert: The title of Joyce’s novel (Finnegans Wake) does not have an apostrophe in it.
Chris Pallé
on 14 May 08“Design” is an overused, washed out term. It’s true, anyone can be a designer if they want. They can claim it and it cannot be refuted.
However, design as craft is something more; craft is an extension to design. When I say “craft,” I don’t mean macaroni glued to a piece of construction paper or whatever. Craft is design that has earned an entitlement to be greater than cookie-cut widgets. Craft is precision coupled with passion. Talented craftspeople are more inclined to the beauty and form side of the design coin while holding to function (if they desire); they are concerned with a holistic experience of their work not just the tangibles.
Take out a thesaurus and look up “design.” Then look up “craft.” I would submit that if you want to impart breath and life into your designs, consider your work a craft.
This discussion is closed.