I hate design. I suppose, though, that I’m not giving design enough credit. I do occasionally enjoy reading about design. A look at this site, although my design is fairly amateurish, betrays at least some level of attention. I do actually have very strong opinions about usability, and UI design is something that interests me a fair bit. Graphic Design, on the other hand, I could care less about, as long as it serves the higher goal of usability. I don’t really want to think about these things - I have my preferences and aesthetic, as do others.
Design isn’t art. Both deal with aesthetics, but neither is about aesthetics. Elements of art can, and often do, inform design. Elements of design can also inform art, although I generally find it creepy when they do.
What this comes down to, though, is after I separate what I think of as bad design from design itself, I mostly hate design because I’m no good at it. I don’t have an innate ability for it, and I don’t like doing it enough to want to try to get better. I feel that focusing on design takes me away from other important things. I know that’s wrong, because the only design I ever spend time on is an interface of some sort (this site is an example, others are, well, not on this site but will hopefully find their way here when they’re ready), and, since they serve something that’s meant in some way to be used, UI design is important.
Ugh. This started out as a fairly coherent thought. I’ve lost track of what the point was, though, so that’s it for now.