•:*The Design Process – Reading 2*:•

What is Design? That is the fundamental question all designers should know the answer to and understand before proceeding to the next stage. I believe an artist should have a pretty decent grasp of design before deciding to pursue it as a career. According to Karl Aspelund, design is a “plan of action to solve a problem” and essentially lies in the decisions people make.

            In the previous reading, Aspelund described the seven stages of the design process with general descriptions, but in the introduction, he gives the audience a little more information about each stage. I found it particularly interesting when he gave the analogy of the design process being like a relationship. He describes the first stage as being the “puppy love” stage when one is full of excitement at the very thought of another person and is in complete infatuation with the other person. Designers are filled with excitement and infatuation of an idea just like someone in the “puppy love” stage of a relationship. As he goes through the stages, he illustrates the different parts of a relationship. For example, when Aspelund discusses the establishment of boundaries in a relationship, he connects it to the exploration and refinement stage. Another important point in a relationship is when a baby is born; the baby is conceived and the baby is then brought into the world. When a designers design is ready for production – a new entity is conceived and finally brought into the world, just like a baby. A baby is a sum of its parents and Aspelund considers design to be a “sum of its parts.”

            Aspelund also spoke of environmentally sustainable practices and designs. He believes that people should want to develop and adopt sustainable practices to help the planet and thinks this is an ethical and social responsibility among humans. I completely agree with Aspelund in that people should care more about the environment and should try harder to change their habits because eventually future generations will grow up in a world vastly different than the current state of the planet. People should want to preserve this world for generations to come. Sustainable design is the new trend and will hopefully continue to positively influence and create a lasting impression for generations to come.