The Great Debate!

Blog 9

Wk 9 – The Great Debate

This week in our Culture of Design Module we had the PDT ‘Great Debate’. There were several statements which had a pair of students three minutes to state why they were either ‘for’ or ‘against’ the statement. There was a fantastic range of motions, some quite reserved, and some quite controversial. These controversial motions added to the enjoyment of the event, as it was enjoyable to see some interesting takes and some quite passionate arguments.

The motion my team were for was ‘ Everyone is not a designer: Design should be the reserve of the professional’. We were for the argument. This was an interesting debate to take part in, as we are studying to be professional designers!

Ahead of the debate, I was in two minds regarding where I stood on this statement. I like to think anyone can do and be what they want. However, in the context of design, and the more I study this course, I keep learning so many principles about design that I believe is true and I follow myself. On the other hand, I am aware that principles should always be challenged and questioned.

The more I researched with Caitlin, my debate teammate, we found that anyone can be creative and come up with a good idea, however, this does not make everyone a designer and therefore should be the reserve of the professional.

In our debate, Caitlin outlined this as our opening. I then followed by discussing what makes a professional designer?

I outlined that it should be understood that during a design process there are multiple stakeholders but that this does not make them designers. They are just involved in the design process. It is the professional designer that has learnt the skills and approaches to effectively bring the original ideas to life.

The professional designer understands the strengths of having multiple insights on a project. Even better, they know when best to approach each stakeholder for feedback and insight. Professional designer never falls in love with their product as they are always seeking to improve the idea. Also, the professional designer sees the big picture. They understand that when creating a product, it is always important to keep the final user in mind as the stakeholders involved in the design process.

Overall the professional designer uses the design process that they know well that works. Caitlin then explained the design processes that we are all familiar with. (The double diamond, as an example).

Our opposition brought up the point that major brands like Lego and Coco Chanel were founded by people from different professions and not by professional designers. I think it is a fair point. Lego was started by Kirk Kristiansen from Denmark who was originally a carpenter. I think it just brings us back to our original point that anyone can come up with a great idea, you just need to be creative enough. Kristiansen’s start of the Lego company began as small wooden toys, which I feel is just a small progression from carpentry. I feel both teams might of had different interpretations of the term 'designer'. I think this is fair as it is a broadly used term. Kristiansen is indeed the original designer of Lego. However, perhaps he is just one of the people who are exceptions to the rule?

I would also point out, that I would be interested in is who behind these people. I struggle to see how there were no professional designers involved in the design process of Lego and Coco Chanel then. I know that these companies are now higher and rely on plenty of professional designers.

I did not bring these counterarguments up during the debate. It was something that I have since had processing in the back of my head. I was stumped on the day, as I am not great when it comes to thinking on the spot.

Overall I believe people can partake in a creative sense in the design process, but the professionals, know when to listen to certain peoples’ feedback. They have the background knowledge to know what the best route is to take and what will have the best outcome.

The debate experience itself was fantastic. It is always good practice to speak Infront of people, as it was a bit nerve-racking at first but as the debate went on, it got easier. This is something I hope would stay in the module for future years as it was a brilliant learning experience.