Design (and Ecodesign)

Design is the process of planning, initiating and/or laying out a new product, service, piece of equipment, landscape, building, plan, policy or the like, typically in an artistic, technically proficient, or skillful fashion. It is a future-oriented act of envisioning and creative problem-solving.

Typically, design involves sketching, drafting, computer-assisted manipulation of three-dimensional spaces, and artistically or accurately representing and arranging forms and materials for new functions and purposes. Design by its very nature embraces ideas about utility, aesthetics, convenience, efficiency, and practicality. In architecture, for example, design ideals can be traced to Vitruvius, who espoused [Page 452]durability, convenience, and beauty as the tenets of design. Design involves the manipulation of technologies, from simple instruments such as drafting pens and paper to sophisticated technologies such as Computer ...