0 Design is a Problem
Amy of Slash7 posted an article titled Design is not about solving problems. Frankly she is wrong. Design will always solve a problem whether you acknowledge the problem or not.
The only and absolute reason “design” exists is to solve inherent problems. Design isn’t just an artsy mascaraed of colors, shapes and abstract thoughts. Design in and of itself answers questions. How do I send an email? Click the “Compose Email” link. That is design. The problem was how to send email, the solution was a link designed to help you send an email. If the link insisted on being missing, that would be a lack of design to solve a problem.
So what the heck is design?
Design is more or less a responsibility to make something that is otherwise horribly (or not at all) presented, presentable. When something lacks presentation that is a design problem. When something is designed to present something effectively, that is the solution.
Let’s take it a little further. Web design for the most part is a problem-solving task. When a client needs a website, you’re solving their lack of web presence by designing, developing and then deploying a website. Really I could bake this up as many ways as you’d like. But the fact of the matter is that design solves problems in addition to it being a typical artsy mascaraed of colors, shapes and abstract thoughts.