It's easy to forget.

It's also boring everyday stuff like your comb or toothbrush or buildings and other man made spaces like public parks.

Even what you use to get around, whether it's a car, the bus or something else, is the product of some form of design.

Design isn't always pretty ugly or even interesting at all.

Sometimes it's practical or so commonplace that you don't really notice it.

Making an effort to be more aware of design can help you see it in unexpected places.

It can also help you see past appearances toe What really makes a design successful, useful or valuable.

But first you need to know what to look for.

Every part of the man made world was designed with a specific purpose in mind.

Learning toe Look at these things with curiosity can help you appreciate the jobs they dio.

It can also help you see the beauty and value in things we normally take for granted.

Here's a simple example.

Picture a basic coffee cup.

It's designed to stay sealed, hold liquid and protect your hand from heat.

Now take a step back and picture the entire coffee shop inside.

It has its own unique style and decor.

While outside there's a sign or logo that advertises the business.

Beyond that, there's the building itself, the sidewalk, the parking lot, even landscaping.

None of this exists by accident.

It was all designed by various people to provide a certain service or experience.

Once you start noticing these things, you might notice something else you have opinions about.

Um, for example, most of us know what it's like to get stuck in a poorly designed parking lot, or how annoying it is when your coffee cup leaks or spills.

These are basically failures of design things that frustrate or disappoint us or don't work the way that they're supposed to.

The key is to ask yourself, where did the design go wrong?

Look closer and you can usually find the answer.

Take a chair, for instance.

It seems simple, but there's a lot that goes into making this design successful .The seat supports your body weight, while the back rest makes it possible to sit and lean back comfortably.

It has four solid legs and doesn't tip over, at least not easily start playing with these basic details, and you get mixed results.

What looks cool, unique or interesting doesn't always work well in real life.

Thinking hard about a design and what it was meant to dio can help you measure how successful it really is.

It can also give you a place to start talking about design and feeling more confident, sharing your opinion.

Here's why that's so important.

Design things aren't just for the people who make them.

They're ultimately for the people who use them.

People like you and me.

Any time you use something that features some form of design, it should leave you feeling satisfied.

Whatever that means to you.

Thinking about design as something that actually affects you can change the way you look at the world.

It's part of almost everything we see and do, from the spaces around us to the little things that we can't live without.

G.

C f.