I remember trying to peak over the edge of our dining room table, trying to get a glance at my mother wrote out checks when I was little. Watching as she carefully wrote out the amount and then rapidly scribble in her calligraphy signature.

 

Design to me is like writing with a pen. I have been given all this knowledge, or ink, and have all the resources to design. Yet the decisions to scribble or to carefully fill out the check is up to the designer. Depending on the situation and what project you are currently facing, each check would be different. Sometimes you have to put caution to the wind, and test on the spot to get the raw hard feedback, thus getting dirty splotches all over the check. Other times you want beautiful cursive. You want to make it look beautiful for the certain people reading it, and take your time developing an idea.

 

No matter the metaphor designing, to me, is taking a less desirable state of a product or service and using creative problem solving and methods to make it a more desirable state. The desirable and non-desirable states will differ from project to project, as defined by clients, users and other stakeholders. As designers, the responsibility is on us to take all these things into consideration and depicting the desired requirements and present an efficient and creative solution.

 

Thus never having the exact same check or pen markings.