Names

The other day I was in the car with my sister and we were straining to read a bumper sticker. Indignantly she yelled "why do bumper stickers have fine print?" Almost as soon as the words left her mouth I started thinking about how I would make that bumper sticker better. Which got me to thinking about how design is generally inspired by some kind of problem. But that thought lead me to how designers are generally called "problem solvers."

This term has always bothered me. Yes, designers solve problems but that is not all we do. Take this wonderful Delta ticket redesign project by Tyler Thompson. In truth, the problem that existed was that you need to tell people where to go, and a paper way to keep track of them. This problem alone has been solved by the original delta ticket. But the first ticket has several problems left within it. It's confusing, there is too much data to look at, and just sort of blurs together visually.

The redesign tackles all of these problems, and ads something more. It is now visually pleasing. The color draws the eye, and I don't know if everyone else reads this much into plane tickets, but to me it is much more friendly. That ticket makes me feel like flying should be fun and calm.

Now some would say that getting me to feel this way due to a simple ticket is part of the design problem. And perhaps it is, but I don't feel that those types of problems are thought of when you say the words "problem solver." That particular term sounds impersonal and some what one-dimentional.

However, it could be that I am simply adding baggage to a term that doesn't actually have those connotations. If I apply deeper meaning to the word, then I can understand how designers would be called problem solvers. But then so would everyone else. Teachers, scientists, therapists, contractors, doctors, and retail workers all solve some form of problem. So I don't believe that design can simply be explained as just problem solving.

There is still a lot of art and craft to design. It's not just about solving a conundrum, but making things better, more useful and more beautiful while you are at it.

While I may not like the term "problem solvers" to be the only explanation for designers, there is something nice about thinking that the world is filled with problem solvers.