My interpretation of what design/history is

As part of my university course I study contextual studies and we have to think about not only what design is but the what history is. I believe it is hard to define what design is because it can be so broad, design is literally everything. Its thinking made visual. It's when you come up with a road map/strategic approach to achieve a unique expectation. Looking at the word 'design' is interesting because different places have different interpretations, for example in Scandinavia it derives from the idea of 'form-giving', in France it carries the sense of 'drawing' and in Germany it implies 'wholeness'. From this my interpretation of design is that it is different for everyone, we all see design in different ways, but personally I believe it is an imaginative, creative and critical thought process which emphasises visual aspects of things. James Eames puts it well when he says "Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose."

History I believe is a lot easier to define because it is the whole of time before this present moment and all the things that have happened during that time. It is an account of somebody's recollection of an event or item that they believe to be important to share. As Theodore Roosevelt puts it "The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future." Looking at design and history together I believe that we need to understand the past to help us in the future and so history is very important for the development of our future.

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