Design is the Rendering of Intent

May 24, 2014

design / design process / jared spool / user experienece

I’ve been hearing the UIE folks talk about a defintion of design as “the rendering of intent” and I think I love it. Designers imagine an outcome, and they do things to bring that outcome into reality.

This fits everything we try to create as designers, and it shows why design is so hard. First, you have to get people to agree on what their desired outcome actually is. This, in itself, is a challenge. Then, you have to get them to agree on how to bring about that outcome, and figure out whether it actually does. This is why good design requires organizational change.