Noun

Singular design

Plural designs

design (plural designs)

1. A plan (with more or less detail) for the structure and functions of an artifact, building or system.
2. A pattern, as an element of a work of art or architecture.
3. The composition of a work of art.
4. Intention or plot.
   • M. Le Page Du Pratz, History of Louisisana (PG), p. 40

     I give it you without any other design than to shew you that I reckon nothing dear to me, when I want to do you a pleasure.

5. The shape or appearance given to an object, especially one that is intended to make it more attractive.
6. The art of designing

   Danish design of furniture is world-famous.

Related terms

• designer

Verb

Infinitive to design

Third person singular designs

Simple past designed

Past participle designed

Present participle designing

to design (third-person singular simple present designs, present participle designing, simple past and past participle designed)

1. To lay out or plan.

No generally-accepted definition of “design” exists, and the term has different connotations in different fields (see design disciplines below). Informally, “a design” (noun) refers to a plan for the construction of an object (as in architectural blueprints, circuit diagrams and sewing patterns) and “to design” (verb) refers to making this plan. However, one can also design by directly constructing an object (as in pottery, cowboy coding and graphic design).

More formally, design has been defined as follows.

(noun) a specification of an object, manifested by an agent, intended to accomplish goals, in a particular environment, using a set of primitive components, satisfying a set of requirements, subject to constraints;

(verb, transitive) to create a design, in an environment (where the designer operates)

Here, a "specification" can be manifested as either a plan or a finished product and "primitives" are the elements from which the design object is composed.

With such a broad denotation, there is no universal language or unifying institution for designers of all disciplines. This allows for many differing philosophies and approaches toward the subject (see Philosophies and studies of design, below).

The person designing is called a designer, which is also a term used for people who work professionally in one of the various design areas, usually also specifying which area is being dealt with (such as a fashion designer, concept designer or web designer). A designer’s sequence of activities is called a design process. The scientific study of design is called design science .

Designing often necessitates considering the aesthetic, functional, economic and sociopolitical dimensions of both the design object and design process. It may involve considerable research, thought, modeling, interactive adjustment, and re-design. Meanwhile, diverse kinds of objects may be designed, including clothing, graphical user interfaces, skyscrapers, corporate identities, business processes and even methods of designing.