The evolution of ‘design’

Design today is about human-centered experiences and thinking outside the box

Design is as old as humanity itself. In fact, there’s increasing evidence that it’s even older. Think Australopithecus with an iPhone. Ok, not an iPhone but a stone purposefully smashed with other stones to create a sharp edge (an iStone, if you will), and maybe not Australopithecus, depending on which school of pre-human taxonomy you prefer. But just this year, scientists working in Kenya announced the 2012 discovery of the oldest known purpose-built stone tools, which date back as many as 3.3 million years, well before Homo Sapiens came into existence. Since then, the notion of design has evolved, even if its most advanced forms have not quite yet surfaced here in Lebanon.

WHAT IS DESIGN?

Based on numerous conversations had for this special report, which ranged from the specific to a level of abstraction that still somewhat boggle our minds, the most succinct definition of design seems to be ‘creativity with a purpose’. The purpose can be as mundane as getting food into our mouths or as corporate as creating a sense of brand loyalty among consumers by designing a friendly, hassle-free customer experience. Design was once the sole domain of the person creating an object, be it a blacksmith, cobbler or carpenter. Today, however, it has become a craft unto its own. And it’s just as important for selling things as it is for as it is for creating them.

Giulio Vinaccia, an Italian designer, working with the UN on a new design-oriented program in Lebanon says product designers today are being brought into the process of creating an item at a far earlier stage than before. Previously they were seen as “tailors,” he says, who were there to merely make something look nice. “Twenty years ago I received a brief of 20 pages to make a glass. The company said, ‘It’s a glass for red wine and this kind of glass needs to have the mouth very open to intake oxygen’ and we were only the ‘tailor’ to design the correct shape.” Now the same company will write to my office and say ‘Guilio, we’re not selling glasses, what should we do?’” Product designers are now being brought in earlier in the commodity creation life cycle, not only to make the creation look nice, but also to help give it a sexy story to make sure it sells. Outside the manufacturing plant, companies need slick websites and the bigger ones hire ad agencies and marketing firms, all of which employ legions of designers. There are designers in just about every field, and even those who may not call themselves designers – like educators and magazine writers – could be considered among the ilk.

THE ‘CREATIVE ECONOMY’

Because there seems to be a designer lurking in every office closet (or sitting next to you at the coffee shop and working remotely), it is difficult to put a figure on how much the industry as a whole is worth. They’re big players in the so-called “Creative Economy”, a sector which does not yet have a universally accepted definition. The UN Industrial Development Organization cites from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) “Creative Economy Report 2010” that it contributes nearly 5 percent to Lebanon’s economy and accounts for over 4 percent of employment. The UN heaped praise on the state of creativity in this country, commenting on its website that “The strength and dynamism of cultural and creative industries in Lebanon are rooted in multifaceted cultural influences, deep-rooted private initiatives and the country’s privileged geographical location. Beirut, for instance, has been regaining and consolidating its role as a regional hub in design, advertising, architecture, fashion, gastronomy and publishing — even if the related value chains are often not completely covered and if some important linkages (such as collaborative work and initiatives, investments, etc.) are still weak.” Despite Lebanon’s reputation for innovation and creativity, design in its newest incarnation – as an inventive solution provider – has not taken off here. But the evangelists have arrived.

“NEW” DESIGN

Since the 1960s, there’s been a developing notion that designers simply think differently than, say, bankers or dockworkers. Around 15 years ago, a new industry was born: designers became problem-solving consultants. They began to think up creative ways to tackle social problems such as homelessness, offer government tips on how to more easily interact with and court the business world with a customer-centric sales pitch. Call it what you will – service design, experience design, strategic design, design thinking – what’s on offer is all pretty much the same. Designers use an innovative method when problem solving which can help a company’s bottom line, an approach which these “new” consultants claim executives, mid-level managers and traditional management gurus lack.

“Most traditional consultancies will always analyse from within the organization. They will look at your processes, your systems, and understand the people and the policies to see how we can optimize. And it’s great if that optimization, in the end, also benefits [a customer’s] experience. […] But it’s very analytical and it’s very numbers based,” says Anne Meijer, business development manager at Livework Studios, a service