In a recent interview/conversation with a young aspiring web designer I noticed he stated on his resume that he was proficient in web design. I asked him to describe to me what web design was and what made him proficient.

“I know how to make mouse rollovers and I know programs...” he said.

Now maybe I was expecting an answer that used phrases like “digital storytelling” or “user interaction” or even something along the lines of “a website usually contains certain elements that guide the user to the brands messaging or action” but, it wasn’t any of that.

There was no synergy between problem and solution. There was no theory behind any of it. I was compelled to question how he was taught what design really was or if he was taught at all.

Programs in my mind are the ends to the means and the most basic program of them all is the paper and pencil. But what I was searching for regardless of the end product was how he got there. What doors did he open, what tile in the floor of the supermarket did he lift up to find the secret chamber to a cool place to be creative in...This came from a dream I had last night that I can describe later. Where did the inspiration come from for the solution he presented?

I remember sitting next to a programmer once that just had installed Photoshop on his machine and had read the manual from front to back and then turned to me and said what do I do next? Hesitantly, I laughed then I said what problem are you trying to solve? He didn’t have any or at least he didn’t know he had any and only if he would have just realized he wanted to create something cool that he had recently seen would he have then had a starting point. A problem.

Everyone always seems to say we’re all born creative or I remember playing with crayons as a kid but, is this really what design is or is it a complex problem that we’re faced with that requires a deeper connection and understanding that we’re trying to solve? And then we seek out the means to solve that regardless of the medium. All tools can be taught but it is the understanding that there is a problem that first must be addressed.

Thinking back on a desktop publishing class I once had in college the assignment was to create business cards, letterhead and the like from a sheet of paper that had all the content already outlined for you. It required no thinking, no conceptualizing; it was bare bones, here is how the program works. And it sucked. I knew the programs already through happenstance and I spent 15 minutes knocking it out and then left the classroom. I remember another class that was four hours long and I stayed sometimes six maybe even seven hours because I was compelled to find my own solution to the problem. The teacher stated he would help refine your skill set with the tools but it was up to us to discover the problem and the solution. This was design I thought. I had to look at the world around me and find a problem that compelled me and then seek out a solution to it. This was the journey.

I mentioned to this young aspiring designer that programs were at that point almost irrelevant and that one of the best approaches to solving any solution was first deciphering the problem. I have seen many rough sketches jotted down to solve a problem that the next step in creating the look and feel could have come from any one of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash or other programs or maybe just from the back of a napkin.  

Fortunately for me I have had the ability to be inspired and learn from other great designers around me and that each have their own means to the solution but one thing I think we all share is the ability to recognize that there is a problem at hand and that design is the foundation for finding the solution. When I followed up with the recruiter about how the interview went her initial response was all Creative Directors that she has worked with say that same thing that you must first be creative and that is something that is not taught.

But is it that it is not taught or is it that it is not taught correctly?