Words and Ideas

A major part of being a designer, is thinking like one. Basic concepts like human needs, function, form and shape and the way systems and structures work are essential for a designer to think of solutions for a problem. The following is a list of my understanding of these concepts. This list is by no means complete. I will be adding or editing concepts as my learning increases.

Symbol

Is a means of representing any object, any person, any idea or situation with some type of mark.

Component

Is not just a part of a whole. It is a part of a whole which cannot be taken  away without changing the very nature of of the whole.

Complex

It comes from the Latin word embrace. Complex is not complicated. It is not the opposite of simple. Complicated has a quality of confusion to it. A complex thing might have many parts but would still posses orderliness. A complex thing may or may not be difficult to comprehend.

System

It comes from the Greek word sustema. A system is a complex whole of parts. These parts are related although the connections between them may or may not be visible. To understand a system, one should get a holistic view of the system and not should observe the way in which each parts affect each other in isolation from the system.

Structure

It is the arrangement of parts. It is also the manner in which they are arranged. Parts interconnect and interelate in order to make the structure work.

Form & Shape

All shapes are forms but not all forms are shapes. The difference being that shape is used for what is known and form is used for all types of figures – familiar or unfamiliar.

Display

Display means an arrangement of things or images so that they are deliberately presented in a way that it gets noticed. Display also refers to that part of the machine that must be watched, so that it can be controlled based on the information received from it.

I have knowingly not used design or art in any definition.  You may or may not agree with some of my definitions. They are always open to discussion.

1. February 5th, 2010
   Anusha says:

   I like the way you speak about form and shape. It is true but I just never thought of it.
   And I love what you’ve done with the comments sections : )

2. April 3rd, 2010
   Anantha says:

   Talking about familiar and unfamiliar , whats unfam some how finds its shortcut path to being called the creative solution. aint it so?
   By the way, ya got nice stuff up.

3. April 4th, 2010
   Jonathan says:

   Well, not always. Something that is too unfamiliar might not be very well accepted. I think one of the challenges of design is to balance the familiar with the unfamiliar and not re-invent the wheel for the sake of re-invention.

4. April 5th, 2010
   Jonathan says:

   @Anusha: Still need to tweak the design for the comments. It was designed in the browser.