All geeks together, Science and Design.

I am currently reading The Canon: A whirligig tour of the beautiful basics of science by Natalie Angier. As I read it I am learning new things and remembering old lessons shoved to the back of my mind. It is making me look at the world from a different perspective which I think is good for me! Angier comments on the relatively recent phenomenon of labelling all scientists as geeks or nerds. If this is the case I think designers might be counted as geeks also. Not that we are wrestling with theories of everything or creating ground breaking discoveries that will change the world, but that we are just a little bit overly obsessed by small details. We have large collection of typefaces and pantone references are like the periodic table to us. We are guilty of talking in a code that often excludes non designers and can often have a self inflated view of our own importance. Hang on, those last two points include most other professions too, so how come they are not labelled in such a negative way? I think the main issue is lack of relevancy and issues of communication.

Science does not figure obviously in most of our lives, even though we interact with science in every aspect of day to day living, it doesn't mean that the whys and whats are of interest to us. Science seems to be something we are very interested in when we are young but kind of looses its shine once we have moved on from the buttons and flashing lights of the science museum. If scientists want to reclaim their rightful place on the list of jobs most dreamt about, by young girls and boys they need to put a bit more emphasis on good old fashioned communication. Design, in this case, as well as performing the function of translating a lot of very complex information simply also needs to convey the passion and inertia that drives science ever onward. It is that excitement and curiosity that fizzles with age for most of us and yet I am sure can be reignited.