May 31, 2006 0
art & design
I recently came across an explorative article by Peter Lawrence the chairman of Corporate Design Foundation on “Why design?”. He describes design “as a user-focused, prototype-based development process that simplifies complexity and achieves success through collaboration.”
Culturally the interplay of art and design has varied from society to society across the world. We in India have traditionally been more exposed to art that to design. This is a feeling which has found resonance in the myriad from of folk arts and in the marked absence of design in public places. Perhaps it is only in the last two decades that there has been a conscious move to use design in the public spaces and in urban areas.
This is a leaning which is also reflected in the web domain – a public space where design is an integral part of the medium. In the last few years of my association with the industry in India, I have realized that web designers in general tend to be more of artists than designers. Driven by their personal desire they tend to override the need to design for public pleasure.
Some anonymous designer once observed: “Design is based on sharing; it is a communal activity, its goals are communal – it seeks not the furtive satisfaction of the private individual but public pleasures of many individuals”
Even though the above observation was made quite a few years ago, this still holds true in the age of usability, user-centric design and user experience where user holds the centre stage of the design process.
Add on news: Photoshop labs has recently published the Web 2.0 Design Kit, with tips on how to create some of the more popular “Web 2.0″ design effects using Photoshop.