Why Design?

Why Design?

Before I was in the design program, I was a psychology major with the intention of becoming an art therapist. I quickly realized that that path wasn’t quite the right one for me, and promptly abandoned that pursuit after one quarter.

And so, on somewhat of a whim (I didn’t know anything about design, typography, anything like that), I switched to graphic design. I’ve always enjoyed art, and design seemed like another way for me to be creative with purpose—to draw/make things, and have those things be functional and be used by people—to make things for others instead of for myself. Self-expression didn’t always come so easily to me, so fine art didn’t seem like a viable option, but when I had a real reason for making something—a goal, a problem to solve—my creations felt successful.

So that’s how I got my start. But why have I stuck with design?

For one thing, my original expectations have held true. Cheesy as it may seem, I do feel like in my own way, I can change the world around me for the better—sometimes by establishing identity, sometimes by making the more difficult to understand, easier to understand, and sometimes by simply making something look nice. Sometimes both.

I’ve also grown to appreciate the many different aspects of design, like typography, its visual and (typically) objective kind of communication, and  the fact that this kind of work combines both logic and creativity. I love that there’s so many kinds of design, like print, web, publication, packaging, environmental, etc. I additionally enjoy that I’m always working with/for different subject matter- because of that, design encompasses so many different things!

Point blank, design culminates many (if not all) of my interests. This field of work always continually keeps me excited and engaged in what I’m doing. It is for these reasons especially that I have stayed with design, and plan to stay with it for a long time.