Design takes many forms in different contexts. In the applied arts, such as graphic design, industrial design, fashion design, functional art, and decorative art, design is considered a noun as it is a verb.

Such is also the case in engineering, architecture and other creative activities. Design allows human beings to effectively communicate ideas and information. It cuts across a wide range of applied arts from fashion design to industrial design.

Design as a noun can refer to a drawing or a sketch. It could also be a graphic representation of a detailed plan for construction uses. It may also be described as a basic plan or pattern that could affect or control the environment. Design as a noun can also be used as an intent or purpose, a secret plot or ploy.

In the context of a verb, design is the series of different processes involved in creating a plan meant for aesthetic and functional objects. These processes, or the design process, as it can be called, require significant time for deliberation, research, shaping and reshaping, adjustments, and redesign.

To design is to fashion in the mind, to create a plan in a systematic format, to execute plans, and to create designs.

Our everyday lives are surrounded by the designs of people who are resourceful, creative and imaginative. We live in houses designed by architects, and ride in cars inspired by engineers. Our household items are product of a new form of art called industrial design.

The clothes we wear from shirts to jeans to underwear clothing are created by ingenious fashion designers, and the furniture pieces we install in our homes were created by the exceptional craftsmanship of their design makers.

To design entails careful evaluation of the product to be created, continuous planning, modeling and remodeling of the product, testing, and redesigning. People who are involved in design are usually creative, organized, and technology conscious.

They are committed to their craft and work well with others, because design is a process which cannot be achieved and perfected alone. This quality also helps them when they deal with clients whose ideas are different from theirs.

The design arena involve careers such as art directing, where you will be tasked to create visual concepts for a large number of products, from billboards to CD jackets.

Another occupation is that of a graphic designer, where you will design the packaging of books, magazines, catalogs, posters, and CD inserts. Industrial designers work in coordination with engineers to create and design everyday items, most of which are mass produced.

Interior designers design and furnish interior areas including houses, office buildings, commercial establishments, and so on. If you love to draw, then you can be an illustrator. Their created images are used in a vast range of areas.

Comics, books, greeting cards, and children's books, are some of the illustrator's products that are meant to entertain and amuse.

If you wish to start a career in design, it helps to start early. Attend you high school art classes. This will cultivate your artistic side and help you develop your own style.

It will also allow you to learn the basics of design, namely, color, form, and perspective. It will also make things easier for you if you could learn design software.

These systems often work well with each other, with one allowing you to create graphic images, and the other being your layout palette. You can also get useful experience by contributing your design pieces published or used in publications.