Taking a Closer Look on Design

Design is often seen as a distant sector, it is believed to be exclusive and extravagant and sometimes can’t find a way to relate itself to other industries. Therefore, the result is low appreciation of design from those who don’t fully feel the benefit of it. Or I suppose that happens in other similar situations too. One of the expected results from AgIdeas and other design events in Melbourne, if not Australia (and applicable everywhere too) is to introduce design to business, vice versa. With better understanding of what design is and how design can help businesses, hopefully integration between these sectors is achieved over the time. In return, as designers we need to understand the standard of the trade and know where to place ourselves.

Opening the AgIdeas Research Conference, Per Mollerup brought up the idea that with by design, we simplify our life. Simple might be complex should not be complicated. This is similar to what Dan Norman’s idea of how things might seen as simple, where actually it is a pure extraction of simplified complication.

Other interesting perspective came out of a debate from environment and marketing point of view. It is said that marketing is partly responsible in selling ideas without bothering what impact it holds and is blameworthy in increasing consumerism. However, marketers said that they are just filling the gap in fulfilling what consumer wants. From my point of view, there is some level of responsibility of design to bring this to a better place. By design, hopefully we will be able to influence people subtly or aggressively in deciding what is good and what is poor.