The Designers.

First blog entry. Such pressure! I started with the typical rundown of "me" that seems almost necessary to introduce myself and my blog to the whole world (or the two of you out there whom I've managed to interest thus far) : job, home, pets, significant other, hobbies, peeves, etc. But then I realized that I'm likely the only person who's really interested in the cute thing my cat did yesterday, or why I am generally perturbed by AB finish gemstones.

While I will certainly not deprive you of such fascinating tidbits in future posts, I thought it better to begin with something more broad; a topic that would be of interest to the hordes of people whom I expect will flock to my blog like flies to roadkill: Design.

Stated simply and without a precursor or further designation, "Design" is a hugely broad topic. Furniture design, jewelry design, interior design, graphic design, industrial design, culinary design, software design...you get the picture. Widely varied? For sure.

The Merriam-Webster definition of design is stated as follows:
1 : to create, fashion, execute, or construct according to plan
2 a : to conceive and plan out in the mind
b : to have as a purpose :
c : to devise for a specific function or end
archaic : to indicate with a distinctive mark, sign, or name
4 a : to make a drawing, pattern, or sketch of
b : to draw the plans for

With these definitions in hand, I think you can start to draw some comparisons between the array of design fields above. I am sure I've attracted only the most enlightened and intelligent of readers to my blog, but if you would indulge me a bit, I'd like to propose my own definition of what it is to be a Designer.
Designers, regardless of their specific expertise, endeavor to complete one primary task - to organize the media particular to their field in new or different formats such that the fruits of their labor are beneficial or enlightening to society in some way. Sometimes this is literal, such as the software designer who is currently hard at work on Mac OS XI: Banana Slug, or the guy (or gal) who gave us bacon flavored chapstick (yes, it is real, and you can find it here).
Other contributions are more esoteric, like Calatrava's Chicago Spire, a residential high-rise which borrows the layout of its spaces and its outer form from seashells and other regular but organic forms found in nature.

While mainstream, household-name designers and their creations are the cherries on top of the proverbial sundae who provide us with something to aspire to (or at least argue about), I believe there is a larger, more important group of folks who are really the bread and butter of the design community, and embody what it means to be a designer every bit as much as the Calatravas and VanGoghs of the world. These are people like you and me. Many of us probably wouldn't even think of ourselves as designers. These are people like the stay at home mom whose passion is scrapbooking. Or the math teacher who composes original songs for her metal band. Or the accountant who builds the perfect treehouse for his son.
Or me, the architect who finds great joy in sourcing out the perfect materials for one of a kind pieces of jewelry, and then creating said pieces of jewelry for the delight and enjoyment of the Etsy community.
Ok, so I am actually a designer by profession, but this is MY blog and shameless self promotion is my right. :)
P.S., here are some photos of my pets. Also, I hate anything pickled.