We’ve all heard this sentence: “Design is not only used to look nice.” This point of view reflects a frustration: The designer’s role is not acknowledged enough in our society. But no advertiser says : “advertising is not only used to sell,” because advertisers don’t need to say it any longer…For me, you have to look at the issue in a different way. Design is used to look nice indeed. The real question is to ask ourselves what’s the fundamental role of this “nice look”?

What are we talking about?

Conventionally, design is the “industrial aesthetic that aims at seaching forms, both new and suitable for their function” (Petit Robert, French dictionary). Of course, this definition is very limited and obsolete for two reasons: first, because design also covers “virtual” elements (logos for example) and not only physical objects anymore. Second, because a third sector (media, services...) that surged after the war has a wider impact on the aesthetics than industry; this former has had a huge influence on design, in the traditional sense, between 1850 and 1950. Here comes a slightly different definition of design: “aesthetic means to commercial, social or societal ends, that employs visual languages fullfilling its functions.” Why is “functions” in the plural form ? It is a paradigm shift with regards to the last definition. Without an ‘s’, function is all about functionality and usage; the project of shaping the industrial world with acceptable forms. What we call designing an object. With an ‘s’, we are entering a complex world where we can’t define what design covers today. We guess it is big, we know more or less how impactful it is in our brands and products, but this influence lacks some benchmarks...It is not fully recognized and acknowledged at least not in France.

From the intangible to the tangible

In order to answer questions about the role of the commercial aesthetic in 2012, we need to clear up any misunderstandings. Restricting the field of design to the services of a designer is like restricting the field of economy to the services of an economist; it is an error of assessment. People tend to forget the deeper issues of design and how impactful it can be. Design is undoubtedly the 3rd aesthetic level of humankind after art and craft. Design gives a new meaning to  exchanges as it contributes to turn ideas into tangible things in this material and commercial world. If we cannot define ourselves through what we buy or what surrounds us, it cannot be assumed that what we buy and what surrounds us doesn’t impact who we are.  In a word, design’s role doesn’t oppose “being” and “having” any longer, but rather consider them as a whole in our everyday life. Let’s now have a closer look at design’s role, which can be divided into 8 dimensions.

1- Pratical role

It is the starting point and the first cause of misunderstanding. People have been designing since they started hunting mammoths with a spear. Some time later, the need to “brand” animals in order to acknowledge the owner arose with the development of farming: Branding was born! These origins probably explain why we restrict the design’s role to making things easier, nice to look at, more manageable and ergonomic, although turning the harsh physicality of the world into user-friendly tools is a tremendous task. The Bauhaus movement is all about the reduction to essentials: form follows function. Unfortunaly, this simplification didn’t help illustrate the fundamental importance of design, especially in countries like France where intellectual matters are considered superior.

2- Emphasising role

Here is another cause of misunderstanding with regards to design. According to a lot of detractors, design is only used to make objects (cars, chairs, packages...) look more alluring. Considered as a marketing’s servant, capitalism’s damned soul, a manipulative element of mass consumers, design would be more than an illusion, it would be a sham. However, the 3D Apple logo, a perfume bottle cap, the shape of Perrier’s bottle---these aren’t misleading. ‘Encoding’ means creating sign, developing language. Beyond the commercial aspect, design suggests an inspiring grammar and vocabulary, that, when they are successful, escape from the commercial function. They tell a belief, a vision of the world...They become part of the culture. Every country has a different way of designing its cars, packagings, furniture or its logos, that carry an implicit imprint of their different national ethos.

3- Empathetic role

When design gets ergonomic, colourful with a nice touch and feel, it is empathetic with the body. When design pays attention to detail (finishing touches, effects...), it is empathetic with the mind. Basically, design’s language contributes to create bonds on an emotional level. These bonds build a community of tastes, age...Harley Davidson, Nespresso, The Mickey Mouse Club, Ikea Family... These are many positive circles. One of the most extraordinary generators of empathy, Walt Disney, has used all the design resources to create regressive childlike worlds. In Disney stores for example, banisters and door knobs are slightly oversized to bring back memories of childhood to visitors. More recently, the web, where interactivity and immediate response are essential elements, uses a form of visual and verbal language : It ensures ‘horizontal’ sharings. Emitter and receiver can naturally join a conversation, without any hidden agenda or taboos. The Apple logo is universally recognized with its logo design with a "byte" taken out of the Apple,  it is all about its logo design: the apple the Fruit of Knowledge, is meant to be shared.

4- Educational role

We often forget the educational role of design, its ability to clarify and make things easier to understand. Like a giant glossary for kids, the editorial design allows people to refine a document, an annual report for example, and make it nicer to read, helping then messages to become more efficient. Additionally, datavision makes quantitative information totally visual. As imagination contributes to a better understanding and interpretation of data, we realise then that a figure isn’t more objective than a word.

5- Euphoric role

Raymond Loewy said “Ugliness does not sell.” Why? Design is fundamentally optimistic. It is meant to make the world nicer to live in. For me, the euphoric role can be divided into 3 main movements : 1. Bringing nature to modernity: From Art Nouveau to Art Deco and from Gaudi to Colani’s biodesign. 2. Make the future better; this goes for the American design from the 50s to the 60s where every object is in the shape of an ideal future-oriented space rocket. 3. Smiles in everyday life, meaning incorporating humor in everyday objects. Designer Ettore Sottsass started painting office machines in bright colours, such as the Valentine typewriter from the 60s, before he founded the delusional Memphis movement in 1980. Nowadays, the world needs the euphoric dimension of design, its ability to carry collective optimism.

6- Emotional role

There is some magic about the capacity of design to work as an “emotionalizer.” Why do we feel so attached to the logos of brands surrounding us? Because we want them to tell stories about us, tell other people who we are, suggest more about our deeper truth. An example: A company’s strategic platform presents its vision, its mission and its ambition. When all this boils down to a logotype or an identity, creation has to go beyond the interpretation of the words: The logotype (logo & typography). When it is successful, it reveals something stronger, a hidden face, an emotion... With the logo, companies are not only seen as cold monoliths anymore, but reveal deeper dimensions. Just like a person.

7- Economic function

If we agree with the fact that beauty is connected to power, then design is a powerful economic tool. In 1910, Peter Behrens created the entire corporate identity of the AEG brand, (logotype, product design, publicity...). This integrated approach, in which a brand should be global and consistent across all customer touch points, has been used by a number of large industrial brands, from Bayer to Braun and from Philips to Volkswagen. In the mid-30s, Americans gave the brand all the power right after the New Deal with marketing’s turbo effect and planned obsolescence, a policy of designing a product with a limited useful life. Design and Branding are like the Trojan horse to massively and globally disseminate the “American Way of Life.” Thirty years later, after Japan copied Western products, its exportation exploded through the production of leisure mass products (small motorcycles, radios, smaller cameras...). Meanwhile in Italy, tens of thousands of SMEs  more or less used creativity and sensitivity to help shape the idea “made in Italy,” although it was firmly anchored in the collective sub-consciousness. In the early 80s, Margaret Thatcher founded the Design Council to promote British ‘branding’ in all its forms. What about France? A lot of main business areas relied on this approach and used the design economic lever (luxury, cars, transportation, leisure, distribution...). But in 2012, there are still whole sections of our economies that haven’t benefited yet from its multiplier effect, with regards to value creation.

8- Ethical role

Unlike advertising that has a pronounced short-term effects, design works on having long-lasting impact. It creates lasting symbols that melt in the consumerist landscape by structuring it. This key role carries duties; the first of them is sincerity. It is important to use design wisely, meaning creatives and designers shouldn’t over promise, but rather support companies in a “true ,” transparent, honest and lasting approach to their project. A very different approach compared to other communication disciplines.

Changing times

As we are going through one of the biggest financial crises and French public authorities and major economic players should consider the strategic role of design more seriously to improve the trade balance, just like other major industrial countries. Yes, design is used to embellish, yet it is a tool for economic and cultural development. Shouldn’t it be time to consider the importance of design? And give it a meaningful place in the budget, support and promotions? Someone once said: “A country that doesn’t talk about religion any longer is a country where religion has succeeded.” And yes, one day, we won’t need to promote design any longer; then we’ll be empowered to say ‘design is only meant to embellish...