Design Is Intention Made Sign: Yves Zimmermann's Essential Action

Abstract Yves Zimmermann was one of those rare graphic designers who not only excelled in the doing of design, but also in thinking and writing about design. “Design as a Universal Concept” first appeared as an online three-part essay in 2011. The article's second part is devoted to an extremely detailed analysis of the concept of design and its inherent relation to signs. To our knowledge, this article has never before appeared in English. The following translation of Part 2 is lightly edited for clarity and slightly abridged, omitting a couple of tangential paragraphs. A commentary follows the translation.