Yayoi Kusama's 'Pumpkin' artwork on Naoshima Island, Japan, in August 2018

© WireStock/Alam

Dotty by design

Happy International Design Day! The best designs are said to be the ones you never notice, but this giant yellow polka-dot pumpkin on Japan's Naoshima island is kind of hard to miss. The sculpture is the work of Yayoi Kusama, an avant-garde artist active since the 1950s and known for crafting outlandish, repeating patterns in bright colours. Polka dots and pumpkins are her most famous motifs, showing up not only on her sculptures but in her paintings, performance pieces and films.

But design is not just about art - it is all around us, from the streets we walk to the app icons we tap. A designer's goal is to make things simpler for people, and since people come from all different walks of life, creating designs that work for everyone is a tough job. That's why 2021's theme for Design Day is 'Design for Each and All'. Whether or not you're a designer, it's a good time to reflect on how creative problem-solving can make the world more accessible and make life easier for everyone.