Everything about Design
Plan for the construction of an object or system
A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word design refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something – its design. The verb to design expresses the process of developing a design. In some cases, the direct construction of an object without an explicit prior plan may also be considered to be a design, such as in arts and crafts. A design is expected to have a purpose within a specific context, typically aiming to satisfy certain goals and constraints while taking into account aesthetic, functional and experiential considerations. Traditional examples of designs are architectural and engineering drawings, circuit diagrams, sewing patterns, and less tangible artefacts such as business process models. Wikipedia →
🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path
- Read the overview: DesignA 5-minute orientation
- Skim a recent paper: Conceptual and design thinking for thematic analysis.Influential work since 2022
- Pick up a classic book: A history of graphic designThe most-reprinted book on the subject
- Read the landmark paper: Balanced basis sets of split valence, triple zeta valence and quadruple zeta valence quality for H to Rn: Design and assessment of accuracyCited 30,676 times
- Go sideways: Design methodsA closely related topic
- Go sideways: User experience designA closely related topic
📖 Definitions
Noun A specification of an object or process, referring to requirements to be satisfied and thus conditions to be met for them to solve a problem.
Noun A plan (with more or less detail) for the structure and functions of an artifact, building or system.
Noun A pattern, as an element of a work of art or architecture.
Noun The composition of a work of art.
🗂️ The subject at a glance
🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)
Balanced basis sets of split valence, triple zeta valence and quadruple zeta valence quality for H to Rn: Design and assessment of accuracy
Nanostructured High‐Entropy Alloys with Multiple Principal Elements: Novel Alloy Design Concepts and Outcomes
An Overview of CMIP5 and the Experiment Design
Combining theory and experiment in electrocatalysis: Insights into materials design
Design and validation of a histological scoring system for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease†
Overview of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) experimental design and organization
Design Science in Information Systems Research1
Reticular synthesis and the design of new materials
🆕 Influential since 2022
Conceptual and design thinking for thematic analysis.
De novo design of protein structure and function with RFdiffusion
Robust deep learning–based protein sequence design using ProteinMPNN
Robot Operating System 2: Design, architecture, and uses in the wild
TransUNet: Rethinking the U-Net architecture design for medical image segmentation through the lens of transformers
📚 Books worth reading
A history of graphic designPhilip B. Meggs, Alston W. Purvis · 1983
Patterns of fashionJanet Arnold · 1964
ArchitectureClois E. Kicklighter, Joan C. Kicklighter · 1976
Graphic Design SchoolDavid Dabner · 2004
Dress pattern designingNatalie Bray · 1961
Design through discoveryMarjorie Elliott Bevlin · 1963
Civil EngineeringAlan Williams · 1999
Patternmaking for fashion designHelen Joseph Armstrong · 1987
Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.
🔗 Related topics
- Design methods Design methods are procedures, techniques, aids, or tools for designing. They offer a number of different kinds of activities that a designer might use…
- User experience design User experience design (UX design, UXD, UED, or XD), upon which is the centralized requirements for "User Experience Design Research" (also known as UX…
- Service design Service design is the activity of planning and arranging people, infrastructure, communication, and material components of a service in order to improve…
- Ecological design Ecological design or ecodesign is an approach to designing products and services that gives special consideration to the environmental impacts of a product…
- User-centered design User-centered design (UCD) or user-driven development (UDD) is a framework of processes in which usability goals, user characteristics, environment, tasks…
- Design thinking Design thinking refers to the set of cognitive, strategic and practical procedures used by designers in the process of designing, and to the body of knowledge…
- Systems design The basic study of system design is the understanding of component parts and their subsequent interaction with one another. Systems design has appeared…
- Design science Design science refers to a scientific, i.e. rational and systematic, approach to designing. An early concept of design science was introduced in 1957 by…