This might be thin-slicing things, or getting quabbly about definitions of words, but I don’t think we’re problem-solvers. I think problem solving typically deals with repairs. A surgeon is a problem-solver. Sometimes, we’re repairing, but other times we’re making something completely new. So we’re not always problem-solvers. I think, more often than not, we’re value-adders as opposed to problem-solvers.
Frank Chimero is a very smart man; smarter than myself, for sure. However, I don’t think he quite gets this answer to a reader right. Frank’s opinion is basically that, while designers can be problem solvers, their primarily value-adders. He does not believe that every design should be a solution to a problem.
While I agree that not every design is a repair job, I have to disagree that design isn’t about problem solving first and foremost. The problem may not be “make a better design” or “fix our website.” The problem may be “our customers think our company is about this, when actually we’re about that.” Or, “we need to increase sales by 20%. Can a website do that for us?”
In my personal opinion, if your design isn’t solving a problem, then it’s just making the problem look prettier.
