DESIGN IS INTELLIGENCE MADE VISIBLE
As a career, designing adds value faster than cost. Creativity is considered a superpower here, that can set your mind free challenging you to innovate and nourish your own mind’s potential. If you can cultivate wit and find the grit to pursue this `power’, a career in this field holds great scope for you.

Although design as a career may sound confusing and intimidating to all you design aspirants at first, clarity sets in within weeks of immersing yourselves in it. If it feels tough to find a starting point or a niche in this field, read on for a glimpse into the plethora of options available in this fascinating career. Go ahead and explore the world of design with me as I share my ideas to help equip you with information that will turn this seemingly daunting profession into an exciting opportunity filled with innovation and intrigue. Also use this article to expose yourself to the endless possibilities lying in wait for you!

What is Design? 
Trying to shrink such a vast and diverse profession into a definition’ can be difficult, but one could say that design is a process that gives us a solution to a problem. Look around you: there is design everywhere. It is an intrinsic part of life. Every interaction we have with the world around us brings us in contact with various forms of design…some good, others not so great. From the pattern on our morning cuppa, to the closet that stores our clothes and the clothes themselves, everything isdesign !

The Process

The process involved in different types of designing is essentially the same. One must first think of a problem that needs to be solved. This can then be used as an inspiration to create an idea which would solve the problem in a creative manner. Once the idea is in place, the designer starts to conceptualise and develop the product/service through her medium of design. When ready, the product could be a prototype for further research and improvement, or if that is unnecessary, a final masterpiece made available for the market.

Design as a Career
In today’s world of opportunity, engineering and medicine are no longer the only professions to choose from. The important thing now is to be aware enough to make the right choice of career for yourself. Generally, design is considered an umbrella term that can be applied to fashion, lifestyle, products of necessity, technology, beauty or any of the other accessories of life, that are currently witnessing rapid change and innovation due to an increasing consumer demand for utility and comfort. Some of the sectors where designers are in great demand are fashion, engineering, manufacturing, automobiles, entertainment, media, advertising, interior designing, IT and architecture among others.

Skills Required

Apart from the basic key qualities like innovative thinking, creative thinking, the ability to draw, visual perception, aesthetics and empathy with the user, designers must also cultivate certain skills such as:

• Presentation and illustration skills
• Problem solving skills
• Critical thinking
• A sharp perspective
• Global awareness
• Communication skills
• Commercial and entrepreneurial skills
• Networking skills
• The ability to work in a team
• Being technologically savvy
• Strong Observation skills

It always helps to have a doodle book on you at all times to make quick sketches of interesting designs and/or items one comes across during the course of your day. You can also use your cell phone camera to capture snapshots of experiences that touch or inspire you such as the perfect sunrise or sunset, or when you find aesthetic appeal in the presence of a car amidst the chaos of a street. Through these pictures, a variety of compositions and colour schemes may occur to you, leading to more ideas building up in your mind. It doesn’t matter whether you choose to go traditional with pen and paper or digital; but it is important that you constantly fill in your sketchbook with whatever comes to mind, integrate it into a composition and understand the basic proportions of objects when compared to their surroundings.

Do try to subscribe to design journals that tend to lend some insight into all the goings-on and latest trends in the design world, for an edge in this field. Some examples of design journals are: The International Journal Of Design, Wallpaper magazine, Stir World, Elle Decor, Frame, Architectural Digest, Domus, Dezeen, Design Anthology, Homegrown, Design Pataki, Design Dekko, Designboom, Inhabitat etc.

If my blog has given you a sneak peek into the glamourous and gritty world of design, enough to stir your passion, don’t wait. Spread your wings…Get set…and Go!!! Trendz Academy wishes you all the best.