Reading chapter 1 was a very thought-provoking experience for me as the explanations helped me gain a better understanding of the principles of artful design and provided me some necessary vocabulary to be able to start articulating my own understanding of and thoughts about design. In this week's reading response, I'd like to reflect on the two principles 1.5: design is means vs. ends and 1.6: design is an interplay between function and form. I believe these two principles have a bit of overlap and it would be interesting to contemplate on both principles in the same response.

The first time I learned about the meanings of the phrases means-to-an-end and end-in-itself on a deeper level was in my Ethics in Computer Science class back in undergrad. The phrases fascinated me because I had never really consciously thought about the purpose of the existence of things in this way. The concept of means and ends was an important part of the discussion around the differences between a few types of ethical systems, most notably deontology and utilitarianism. As I try to recall my first encounter with the idea of means and ends, I am wondering if there are parallels to be drawn between ethics and design.

One thing that's similar between utilitarianism, which resolves around the idea that the end justifies the means, and the means-to-an-end aspect of design is that the focus is on purpose, use, or function as defined in the book under principle 1.5. When something is created merely as a means to an end, it would seem that elements like form, aesthetics, and the experience are all secondary or possibly not even given consideration. They're simply unimportant in this angle as the main goal is to satisfy a purpose, regardless of what approach is used.

In the realm of ethics, the line between the means-to-an-end and the end-in-itself frameworks may be relatively easy to draw, but in design, specifically artful design, the line is blurry simply because design is an interplay between function and form as principle 1.6 states. The zipper pencil bag demonstrates this principle really well - the means is a single zipper that forms a bag and serves the function of holding things, but the bag having been made in the form of a playful object is also the end itself as it elicits curiosity and joy from its user. What makes us feel that this bag was thoughtfully designed is precisely the interplay between function and form which we easily and naturally observe in the object.

As I read the first chapter of the book, it occurred to me that the book itself was artfully designed (that's pretty meta for a book with the exact title of Artful Design!). A book serves the function of getting information and messages across to the reader (the end), and the format of the book is a choice that the author makes with the intention of delivering the information in not only an effective way but also an interesting way (the means). The comic book style format of this book is a design choice that makes the form of the book itself an end as well, as it gives readers a more playful and interesting experience as they contemplate on the information they receive in the book.