02 what designers do

Design 200: Introduction to Design Department of DesignThe Ohio State University

What do designers do?


An Over Simplification• Designers create and provide creative solutions to

creative problems through the use of a systematic process.


Three Disciplines• In the Department of Industrial, Interior, and Visual

Communication Design at The Ohio State University, we focus on three (obvious) disciplines:

• Industrial Design (Product Design?)

• Interior Space Design (Interior Architecture?)

• Visual Communication Design (Graphic Design?)


Industrial Design


Industrial Designers Society of America

• “Industrial design is the professional service of creating and developing concepts and specifications that optimize the function, value and appearance of products and systems for the mutual benefit of both user and manufacturer.”


What do they design?Consumer Products

• Appliances

• Personal Hygiene

• Tools

• Sporting Goods

Transportation Vehicles

• Planes, trains, automobiles, buses, watercraft.


What do they design?Consumer Electronics

• Stereo and video equipment.

• Computers and peripherals.

Medical

• Diagnostic equipment.

• Treatment equipment.


What do they design?Exhibits & Displays

• Trade shows and exhibitions.

Furniture

• Office, home, institutional.

• Seating.

Footware

• Athletic.


Primary Considerations

• Creation of new products vs. re-evaluation of existing products.

• Creating the look and feel of a product to communicate the intended uses and functions.

• Selection of materials and processes to realize the functioning product.


Interior Space Design


American Society of Interior Designers

• “Interior design is the total creative solution for a programmed interior. It encompasses the conceptual planning, aesthetic and technical solutions applied to achieve the desired result. A ‘programmed interior’ is for a specific intended purpose or use of the built environment.”


First some clarification.

Architects

• concerned more with load bearing structure, thinking about the macro level and contextual, outside in aspects. Less of the human element.

Interior Decorators

• create environments highly specialized and tailored to a specific user. Generally concerned with Residential applications.


First some clarification.

Interior Space Designers

• draw upon many areas of expertise to create complex, functional, public environments that address the needs of large groups of users.


What do they design?Governmental & Institutional

• Entertainment Venues.

• Corporate Offices.

• Libraries, Banks, Museums, etc...

Retail & Commercial

• Brand Stores

• Point-of-Purchase Displays

• Trade show & Exhibition Displays


What do they design?Hospitality

• Restaurants

• Hotels

Healthcare Facilities

• Hospitals

• Clinics

• Doctors Offices



• Improving the quality of life in these spaces.

• Enhance the function and quality of interior spaces.

• Increase productivity.

• Protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.


Visual Communication Design


American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)

• “The disciplines represented in the profession range from book and type design through the traditional communication design disciplines to the newer disciplines of interaction design, experience design and motion graphics.”


What do they design?Print

• Corporate Identities, Logos, Letterheads, Business Cards, Annual Reports, Brochures, Posters, etc...

• Package Design

• Layout Design for Books, Magazines, and other printed media.

• Photography & Illustration.


What do they design?Environmental Graphics

• Way-finding & Signage

• Super Graphics

Multimedia

• Web Design

• Animation and Time Based Media

• Interactive Media such as DVDs or Flash.

Typography and Type Design. (not just print)



• Inform, Educate, Persuade, and Entertain.

• Translating a specific message from a client to a specific audience using the visual language.


VC for every designer.


SymbolismSymbol

• An abstracted message that is more open to interpretation

• Culturally learned


SymbolismIcon

• Realistic representation of an object


SymbolismMetaphor

• Parallel created to make a concept easier to grasp


TypographyManipulating letterforms and text to conform to a visual hierarchy.

• Weights & Typefaces (bold, italic, font, etc...)

• Kerning

• Leading

• Grids, Columns, Groupings, etc...


TypographySerif vs. Sans Serif

• Serif is easier for the reader in a large body of text. Tends to communicate a more traditional aesthetic.

• Sans serif is quicker to scan for short headlines or signs.Tends to communicate a more modern aesthetic.


Photography vs. Illustration

Photography

• An image recorded by a camera which contains great accuracy and fidelity of detail.


Photography vs. Illustration

Illustration

• To clarify by use of examples or creative representation.


Visual Synthesis

• The combining of separate visual elements or ideas to form a coherent whole

02 what designers do

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