We are multi-sensory beings in a multi-dimensional world. Our senses and cognitive processes help us maintain a consistent orientation of our physical and mental input and outputs.

Many design disciplines, however, specialize in solving a specific problem, and sometimes, in the context of a specific dimension. Often, the outcome is that each design discipline only addresses part of the whole picture, as illustrated in the preceding image.

Trying to map out the various disciplines and how they relate is impossible, because their nature is fluid and because rapid changes lead to constant redrawing of domain boundaries. Core design disciplines can be wrestled into three major clusters--surface, space, and time-based experiences. Science and technology domains, which have always been tightly fused with design, include complementary disciplines.

The entire map is visualized in the figure present after the bullets:

• The disciplines of two-dimensional surfaces:
  • Graphic design
  • Typography
  • Web and software design
• The disciplines of three-dimensional spaces and objects:
  • Architecture
  • Fashion design
  • Product design
  • Vehicle design
• The disciplines of time:
  • Lighting design
  • Sound design
  • Film and video
  • Interaction design
  • Animation
  • Game design
  • Instructional design
• Engineering disciplines:
  • Architectural
  • Mechanical
  • Electrical
  • Software
  • Information design
• Scientific disciplines:
  • Anthropology
  • Sociology
  • Psychology
  • Linguistics
  • Mathematics
  • Physics

Throughout human evolution, people greatly changed our planet through waves of agricultural, industrial, and information revolutions, and in the process, exponentially expanded our sensory and cognitive.

The evolution of design has paralleled these revolutions, helping address new needs that emerged over time. Early on, our ancestors faced survival needs just like any other species. But unlike birds or beavers, for example, humans elevated the need for shelter, moving beyond satisfying their basic needs.

At some point in our development as a species, buildings and objects were assigned meaningful functions that reflected social and symbolic needs, and their design became essential to communicating their symbolic meaning. The value and symbolic significance of objects and structures began to extend well beyond the value of the raw materials or labor that went into producing them.

Human societies are hierarchical and the ability to express status and class differentiation through design became important, because most societies formed around the symbolic power of religious and aristocratic classes. Design helped elevate the notion that few people are chosen by divine intervention, making them special--endowed with heavenly powers that afforded them their position and rule.

Design became the pivotal means of communicating the abstract concepts of endowed power, through concrete means of visual representation of the sublime and precious. Buildings and artifacts were infused with beauty and meaning that were designed to communicate and justify the concentration of power and means, at the hands of a small, select group of a society.

The demand for skilled artisans who could build and decorate palaces, places of worship, furniture, and garments widened. Skills necessary to articulate meaning, have evolved into well-segmented artisanal trades--stonemasons, metalsmiths, goldsmiths, armorers, blacksmiths are just a few examples of domain expertise that began to be passed from generation to generation through systems of apprentices, guilds, and trade associations.

This is the origin of some of the design domains listed previously. For centuries, people in the design trades were not distinguished from artisans who mastered other trades, such as bakers, tanners or millers. They were respected, but generally poor and illiterate just like the majority of people at the time. The rate of change was very slow compared to our times, perhaps because science and technology evolved very slowly as well. For example, Thales of Miletus, the Greek philosopher, experimented with primitive forms of electricity in the 6th century BCE, but electricity became a common utility in industrial countries only during the first part of the 20th century. Industrialization, the big driver of change, was only possible once energy manufacturing and distribution became common.

While it is possible to place the various disciplines on a historical timeline, attempting to pinpoint their emergence has limited value because the boundaries of disciplines are so difficult to delineate. Instead, we will consider how various disciplines evolved to address specific challenges and opportunities.