Design is not a title, it’s a question
“You have to define all your terms. You have to define what design is.”
⮕ When I first read this sentence by designer Paul Rand, I thought, “What does he mean, of course I know what I do. I am a designer. I design.” — But I was young then, and it was only a few years later, as I matured and thought about my practice, that it hit me: to name is not to define.
⮕ Defining is about deconstructing our work to understand each piece, the process, and the purpose. It’s about understanding the concepts behind the labels we give to things: What is being human, what is work, what is art, what is satisfaction? What is nature.
⮕ Once you realize this, you really begin to benefit from the power of what you do.
Paul Rand – from the book Conversations with Students
“You have to define all your terms. You have to define what design is. Do you know what design is? What is design? People have to understand what the hell they are doing. In art school, people assume everybody understands everything. They do not.”
By Marc Kandalaft
