As far as I can remember I have been drawing or creating something…I have always felt an inner peace when I am tasked to design something, to create from that which does not exist. In this, design becomes very personal, it is a process of communicating an experience through my actions, through my heart.
In the literal world of webster’s dictionary design is defined as:
de•sign (di-zin’) v. 1. To conceive: invent: contrive.
By nature of the literal translation, to design is to conceive. I take this to be absolute, I may design for others, but that is still a part of myself that is being given away. I ultimately own the idea and, when employed by others…am required to give that idea or by association, a piece of me away to create an experience for someone else. The process is inherently selfless. It continues to rebirth and evolves itself at every opportunity, continually giving away and then replacing with something new.
Design is not the image infront of you, it is not the spoken or read word, it is not the music track, it is not the color on the wall….it is all and yet it is none of these singularly. Design ultimately creates feeling…to design effectively is to evoke an emotional response, no matter where it is good or bad.
Ultimately, the intended recipient “client” will walk away with a feeling, not an absolute memory. Memory, being organic in nature, is an accumulation of stored electrical signals. Memory, over time will filter details and allow the overall experience to create the definition. For example, I remember that my mother makes an excellent lemon pound cake, but the details of the pound cake are taken for granted and ultimately evoke a memory of being home, being safe. That’s may seem odd, but think of what feelings you associate with even the earliest childhood memories. Overtime, even the most detailed memories get generalize into feelings…love, hate, happy, sad, accurate, deceptive.
Once we realize this to be true, we are free to push even our own limits of communication. Multiple messages can be delivered across one platform, or better yet, these messages can be simplified to allow to a single idea to flourish with great impact in an uncluttered environment. We can be free to create a feeling, a need for our product and/or message.
In the guise of television, its not enough for the viewer to assume that they will get the very best in a news product from us. We have to design and craft a product that reinforces our commitment to them. Through design, of the video, the script, the ots, the edit, the camera work, the audio, etc., we have the opportunity to create an experience that will build an emotional attachment or trust, that will translate into an automatic response. In the world of diaries as ratings tools, we were able to “skate” because our viewers went by a generalized assessment and not an absolute. In the world of meters as ratings tools, it is absolute, they are either tuned in or not. The need for a better product, better delivery is now greater than ever. We must concentrate on refining our product and thereby building trust on every platform of delivery, this trust will create a call to action, like a hand-shake or hug when you first meet a friend. Its automatic, it is beyond the thought process. Everything is at stake in this environment. We must strive to create, in the viewer, a feeling that the viewer is as comfortable with us as we are with ourselves, but we have to be comfortable with ourselves first. This how we prove that everyone is a designer in some capacity.
