How do YOU define design?

"What is Design?"

That's the one question I've been asked more than others in 4 years of college.

Often it was the first question a professor rhetorically asked, at the start of a new course. Other times a friend or relative would ask me, when I mentioned that, "No, it is Industrial Design, not Industrial Engineering".

Over time, the answers I gave, and have heard, kept changing. From the dictionary definition of "A plan for the creation of an object", to "An arrangement of things to achieve a purpose" to "Solving a problem". I was never satisfied with any of those answers. A lot more goes into a design than just the creation of a plan, or attempting to solve a problem.

After giving it some thought, the definition I've managed to come up with, and am relatively satisfied with is:

"Design is what makes an object greater than the sum of its parts"

Think about any object, be it as simple as a spoon, or as complex as a laptop. At their core, they are both made from standard materials. However when given a specific shape or form, it becomes more than just a piece of metal, glass plastic, wood, or a combination of all of them. It becomes a useful, and use-able tool, and based on its design, could be a thing of beauty, or even an object of desire.

It doesn’t just apply to industrial design either. Something as simple as a series of lines could be arranged to elicit a specific response, as perfected by the great graphic designer Saul Bass. Simple lines, but when positioned properly, they create an iconic image, a sense of depth and movement, and even tell a story, elevating the work beyond just "Simple Lines".

So, how do YOU define design?

Let me know in the comments section below.