Design is ...

mumble mumble... finding a way to answer to this question makes me feel like choosing stereotypical definitions or concepts. During our first class of Contemporary Design Theory we had to answer to a question that actually dazzled me more: What is Design NOT?
It was surprising how I could not find an answer to that question! As a formal and professional definition we learnt that design is NOT art, nature, or anything coming from an evolutionary process.
But there are still a lot of controversies about this definition, arisen in class as well.
Books and theorists wants us to embrace the definition that design is ONLY what has been created by a human, on a client driven purpose with an end result of earning money.
Definitely nothing to do with art ... many of us, future graphic designers, don't really agree with this strict and dry definition.
Personally, when I think of what design is, I can see and feel it everywhere.
I look at a skyline and I know it has been designed by humans to convey order, balance, beauty, emotions. Then I look at a natural landscape and it conveys me exactly the same things, even though no human being created it.
This is only one of many examples of where I can see and FEEL Design even though it doesn't belong to the official definition of it.
As I said looking at skylines, or landscapes, or architecture, or interior design, or typography, or colours—anything related to "Design"—makes me feel good inside and I start seeing different things from what I am actually seeing and I start thinking of how I can use a certain detail or a certain combination of colours.
I guess that's why I decided to make Graphic Design not only my passion and my hobby, but also my profession. But this leads me to my second disagreement on the definition of Design: I am here to become a Designer and create after a client driven request but also for personal pleasure of creating, just for the sake of expressing myself.
I think that Design is not just balanced and elegant combination of elements (the "artistic" point of view) but also a very important tool able to communicate and convey information (Graphic Design in particular). This tool gives Design a very important role of responsability and power. Design is able to deeply influence society, costumes, tendencies, ideas, style, etc.
All the above makes me love Design, whether it being art or not, whether it being created by a human being or not, Design IS all of the above ... and more!