The "What Is Design" project is about creating a visual platform (website) to share what is design with the younger generations. Using an interactive website with a gamification technique and a storytelling approach the information becomes more appealing and interesting.
Design is something complex. It is decisions taken in favour of a viable solution to the given context.
During my life course and also professionally I have noticed that people usually do not have a clear notion of what the role of the designer in society is and the potential of this area.
As a designer, I felt compelled to show and explain what’s the role of the designer in society, starting with those who will be future professionals and can shape or influence, through their work, the knowledge of the population: the students.
The project was based on a literature review, in order to contextualize and show different points of view, from various authors, about what is design. The literature review included themes such as: what is design, the role of the designer in society, the power of the designer, social and environmental design. Based on a design thinking methodology, which used a double diamond structure, created by Design Council's UK, which included an iterative process, with divergent and convergent phases, divided into four phases: discover, define, develop and deliver. In the discovery phase, besides the literature review, surveys were applied to the target audience and the results were analyzed to understand the target's knowledge about design. The visual project consisted of developing a website, focusing on mobile devices, and using the techniques of storytelling and gamification. Usability tests were applied to the website prototype and the results were analyzed in order to improve the interface and the user experience.
The final result is a website focused on the user experience and with the gamification and storytelling techniques, that puts the user in the role of the designer. Making decisions as a designer and, at the same time, understating what is design and the role of the designer in different fields.
