definitions

I have about three working definitions for design which I am reluctant to reconcile into one – not just yet. They go like this.
1. Design is meaningful creation. There is always creation in design whether you are dealing with tangibles or otherwise. You always end up creating something or non-thing that did not exist before. Meaningful – because it is a conscious, deliberate process. The process is always meaningful even if the end results turn out to be meaningless.
2. Design is a process of increasing Contrast or Uniqueness. Whether visual or otherwise we always add value in such a way that it is different from all that exists. Therefore all the attention that a new creation gets could be explained like the flow (of electricity) that happens when you have a (potential) difference.
3. Design is about re-arranging information flows. In order to bring about change it is necessary to change the relationships i.e. the various interconnections which determine the qualities of an entity (an object in our case). These interconnections are the structure of the object and are primarily channels of information flow. When a connection is altered the information flow is altered and the behaviour / output is altered. Lovers getting married, clubbing a camera with a cell phone, adding GPS to traffic navigation, count-down units at traffic lights, changing the seat height of your chair etc. etc. are all examples of such structural alteration and therefore alteration of information flows leading to change in behaviour / quality of experience.