When Is Design Correct, and What is Creative Design?
Society relies on the process of design to give everything purpose, clarity, and organization, so it's natural that we must have effective design. Everything from an installation manual to a web site require design that is correct, otherwise bad things can and often do happen.
Here's why all this matters, along with the answer to "What is Creative?"
First, to show why design needs to be correct please see The Fifty-Nine-Story Crisis, which is an account of the structural design deficincies in the Citicorp Building in New York, and how the problem was handled. The Challenger Disaster article is also very interesting, and further iterates the critical role of design. When design is done correctly things work but when corners are cut things start to degrade.
Next, to answer the question of "What is Creative Design?" Creative is essentially the designer's interpretation or approach to a design solution (be it correct or incorrect). Thus, the subjective aspect of design is commonly called creative.
As a designer, I look for and appreciate successful creative design. In my earliest memories I recall how the design of objects made me feel or act a certain way. Later as an adult I realized that when I see good design I feel happier, often attributed to being more efficient, relevant, or beautiful. I also often get very jealous of good design, which is a great inner litmus test :-) Bad design always leaves me feeling deflated, aggravated, or just plain bored. The Super Bowl commercials are a perfect example of how a well designed sales message is considered entertainment by most folks, despite all the negatives usually attached to advertising.
I plan on writing more on the subject of design soon. More to come.