A designer is a person who plans how something will look or work, such as clothes, buildings, websites, or products. Designers balance usefulness with appearance to solve problems in creative ways.
From "design" plus the agent-forming suffix "-er." "Design" comes from Latin "designare" meaning "to mark out" or "plan." The job title grew in importance with industrial production and fashion industries.
A designer is not just someone who makes things pretty; they decide how people will use and experience objects and spaces. Every time you twist a bottle cap easily or struggle with impossible packaging, you’re feeling a designer’s success—or failure.
Design professions (fashion, graphic, industrial, etc.) have been gendered in different ways: some feminized and devalued, others masculinized and gatekept. Women and gender-diverse designers have often been under-credited or had their work attributed to male colleagues or brands.
Use 'designer' as a gender-neutral role; avoid assumptions about gender based on design field (e.g., fashion vs. engineering).
["creator","architect (if accurate)","planner"]
When discussing design history, explicitly credit women and gender-diverse designers whose contributions have been minimized or attributed to male-led firms.
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