The Role of Designers: From Problem Identification to Impactful Solutions.
The role of a designer is often misunderstood, reduced to aesthetics or surface-level improvements. In reality, a designer's true function goes far beyond making things "look good."
Designers are problem-solvers who navigate constraints, create solutions, and influence outcomes through thoughtful, evidence-based processes. Yet too often, they are brought in too late and dismissed too early, limiting their ability to drive meaningful results. By redefining their role and recognising their value from concept to completion, we can unlock the full potential of design to shape experiences, solve complex challenges, and bring ideas to life in ways that are both functional and impactful.
Sadly, the biggest problem with the design profession is society's lack of understanding of the role and true function of a designer. Often, designers are asked to step in after the brief is defined and step out before the project is completed. This is true for all facets of design, whether it’s a building, space, product, or interface.
Too often, the client/owner defines the problem at the beginning, and a third party completes it in the end. Designers take on the role in the middle, and because of this, they are often seen as assistants to the team or process, not as a core part of it, i.e., something interchangeable. If they can be removed, they are not critical, and if not critical, they are neither respected nor rewarded. Real, meaningful, impactful results, however, occur when designers are involved from the beginning to help identify the problem and at the end to bring it to life. Callie van der Merwe, mentions, A designer’s job should start well before the first line is drawn and end long after the ink has dried on the last. Just look at Jonathan Ive and Apple for a clear example of how design can drive innovation and success
“The goal of a designer is to listen, observe, understand, sympathize, empathize, synthesize, and glean insights that enable him or her to ‘make the invisible visible.’"
Hillman Curtis
In short, perhaps a designer is simply someone who solves problems within a set of existing constraints. This applies to all types of designers, whether you are a graphic designer, furniture designer, interior designer, web designer, or architect.
What do you think?
So what is design then? More in the next Article...
Information Reference Index:
The Role of Design in Problem-Solving
Design Thinking: Integrating Innovation, Customer Experience, and Brand Value by Thomas Lockwood
https://www.amazon.com/Design-Thinking-Integrating-Innovation-Experience/dp/1581156685
How design thinking serves as a strategic problem-solving tool to address complex challenges in business and society.
Redefining the Role of the Designer
The Designer as a Problem Solver
The Value of Design in Innovation
Design Leadership and Impact
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