The design landscape is all around us, from the iconic Starbucks logo to the revolving door in your office and the captivating graphics of The Spotlight. But what exactly is design, and why does it matter?
Design is an act of communication, requiring a deep understanding of the intended audience. In this context, we explore the significance of design and the role of designers in conveying messages effectively.
-Don Newman
The Art of Design: The challenge and the work of an artist
Design is not merely a visual aspect but a work of art that poses a challenge. The designers have to clearly communicate with it, attract the eyes, and enhance user experience. Whether through a brand-defining logo like Instagram’s or the user-friendly homepage of YouTube.
Walking everyday on the street, we overlook the designs that shape our experience that has been existing around us everyday holding importance in our life. We interact with it so much that we won’t even notice how life has accepted them. From the colors we see to the technology we use, design is omnipresent. Even seemingly small details, like the stickers on fruits in the market, serve a purpose in making lives more convenient.
Designers: The creative minds and problem solvers
The red sole marks Louis Vuitton, an eaten apple denotes Apple. All these are simple things we could think of and do but never thought of it before someone already did it.
A designer sees things out of the box and creates an art that holds the capacity to give an identity in today’s global Market. Even With the social media marketing, and web design being crucial to any business that wishes to sustain, demand of such talents in arts and design everyday.
But, Being a designer is talent or hard work?
The designers not only notice such minor details, but hold the creativity and responsibility to fix them. But such creativity is not hard-wired since birth and not all can be Albert Einstein being smarter and out of the box since the get-go. The ability to notice the unnoticed and bring it out as a design is not solely a talent but a result of hard work and practice. Designers possess the creativity and responsibility to address design challenges. To grow in their craft, designers mostly seek inspiration, connect with like-minded individuals, and adapt to emerging trends in the dynamic field.
Connecting in the digital era: Designers’ space for collaboration
Coming to the digitalized era, it is a lot easier to connect with the like minded people. The world has made it easy with formal events including conferences, events and workshops.
These help you connect, gain inspiration, and learn and work on newer fields where the market seems to be leading to. One of such things these days seems to be 3D designs, maximalism, AI designs, Data Storytelling, and much more.
Designer’s Day: The Revival of design celebration in Nepal
Designer’s Day, an event happened on 17th of December at The Entrance Cafe in Kathmandu, marked a resurgence of celebrations focused on designs and designers after a five-year hiatus of such event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amit Bajracharya, one of the few people playing the major role in bringing life to the idea of Designer’s day, finally brought the aspiring designers within Kathmandu together after half a decade of break with about 100 participants capacity in total. Thanks to this event, we are back to serving a platform for designers for discussions, idea-sharing, and fostering a collaborative culture.
Since the program was already a challenge because no one had heard about such an event in the past few years, the planning process faced more challenges: notably in securing sponsorships and getting necessary supports.
Bajracharya says, “I tried reaching out to sponsors in the USA as well, but unfortunately, nothing worked out. Fortunately, one company in Nepal agreed to sponsor, and with personal contributions from friends, we made it happen. We still had not overcome the financial challenge, yet we pushed forward and successfully held the event.”
Despite the economic constraints, local partnerships played a pivotal role in the success of the event. The program ran with the contribution and collaboration with various partners, including Breakout Studios and Responsive Pixels. The event’s success hinged on personal contributions, demonstrating the community’s commitment to the cause.
The event did not fail to live up to all’s expectations. Attendees were welcomed without strict criteria but with a unique idea, giving space to all creativity. The event too was interesting, showcasing real case studies and authentic design stories, avoiding a specific theme. Workshops, presentations, and a podcast-style fireside chat engaged designers and encouraged collaboration. There was also a Call for Papers, making speaking slots to anyone interested.
A meme that grabbed the attention
While you might think that the event was boring, it probably was at some point but a specific presentation piqued the interest of every Nepali there. The viral meme from Surkhet, funnily depicted sculpture of the Royal Bengal Tiger. It was indeed an inspiring and attention grabbing presentation to show the horizon of design.
“The successful impact in the design community helped us foster a culture of sharing and mutual learning. It has helped to evoke the future plans involving making Designer’s Day an annual event and expanding monthly meetups.”- says Amit Bajracharya.
Looking ahead to the future, the organizers aim to see a culture of designers sharing their work with others for mutual learning. This positive trend has begun with Designer’s day which will help it flourish such events in the future.
Why do events like Designer’s Day matters?
Events like Designer’s Day are essential for breaking biases and highlighting the talent within the local design community. While international companies often outsource talent, Nepal’s design industry is making strides in learning and embracing design values.
The Designer’s Day provided insights into design trends, such as web animations under 100KB, and emphasized the importance of quality, challenging misconceptions, and focusing on impactful content. Designer’s Day aims to showcase the capabilities of Nepali designers on a global stage through thoughtfully curated events.
The world of design is a dynamic and vital aspect of our daily lives, and events like Designer’s Day play a pivotal role in fostering creativity, collaboration, and recognition within the design community. This is what indeed gives inspiration for newer work while being a step for the talents to network and present their own creativity.
