After doing my book readings for the day, I read a few things that stuck with me after. A quote that stood out was, "Designing is about forming ideas, planning and explaining the execution of those ideas, and making choices based on the evolution of those ideas that will lead to an end result. Designing is a journey that has a number of stops and detours along the way." It basically outlined what the whole chapter was about, and what the rest of the book would entail. The chapter talked about how designing is a personal experience, and compared the design process to a romantic relationship. It went into further detail about how each stage compared to the stages in a relationship, and I found it amusing. It basically said that you start off excited about a project, then the needs and constraints become clear. Afterwards, you have to establish boundaries, and then you build on what you have. Finally, you communicate your design to others and lead it to production.
The chapter continues and talks about designing responsibly. It says that as a designer, you have to think about how your design will affect the environment. It also says that, "A designer's job begins with a problem that requires a solution." That reminded me of some of the previous things that we have discussed in class. The book also makes a point that designers are not just concerned with the aesthetics of the design, but have many other concerns to think about. They have to continually help their design evolve, and solve different problems that occur along the way until they have a final, finished project that fulfills the original solution.
The next section of the chapter begins to outline the design process. It begins with finding inspiration, then going on to define the project as much as possible, and identifying the constraints. The next step is to visualize the idea without considering the problems, to give an impression for the idea. At the next stage, the designer has to work out all of the problems, and may have to re-do the previous idea. The next stage is said to be the most difficult stage, because they have to commit to the design. Often, a designer has to find the inspiration that they originally had in order to get through the stage. After the designer has committed to the design, they have to present the design. Communication is crucial, as we were previously told. The final stage is when the design is produced. Generally, the designer has to work with several different people, and the designer has to get various feedback. The design may have to have a final revision before it is fully produced, but the whole process can help the designer gain new knowledge.
The next section of the book gave some background information on the author. It talked about how he gained years of experience and knowledge from various jobs. At the end of the chapter, there is exercises for us to complete. This one wants us to establish a design journal and as a first project reverse-design something (figure out the steps for designing it, starting at the final step).
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