Design is often considered a luxury, yet the reality is that nothing can be manufactured without first being designed. It can be as simple as an envelope or pencil, or as complex as a car or space rocket.

While some designers such as Charles Eames, Milton Glaser and Zaha Hadid have become household names, the vast majority of products we use every day are anonymously designed, down to the shape, colour and location of the tiniest screw on a laptop. No one knows the name of the first craftsperson who designed the stucco Muqarnas of Nishapur, Iran, in the 9th century — a style that spread across the Islamic world, or the very first woven paradise carpets or illuminated Qurans.

Design is the purposeful fashioning of something, usually products, architecture or graphic design. It is also the design of systems, from the structure of how a bank functions, education systems, government structures or the design of roads to manage traffic flow. At a more subtle level lies the design of policies that dictate the values of a society, spreading across borders, through media, entertainment, literature, history writing and even fashion styles. What is newsworthy, what is funny, what is chic and........

© Dawn (Magazines)