Designers’ intuition appeals to the public

The stuff about design that can excite the public is the same stuff that gets designers up in the morning.

The blank sheet of paper, the idea, the Blue Peter moments (sorry, Tim Rich), the sheer fun of thinking sideways for a living… The way designers’ brains are wired up is fundamentally what makes us so useful to so many kinds of business and organisations.

In trying so desperately hard to be taken seriously, we are failing to recognise that the fun bit is the biggest commercial strength we possess.

It is no accident that what gets the public reacting to architecture, what can shift perception is not the highly-respected Royal Institute of British Architects, but the passion of architects and their practices for their work (Comment, DW 5 February).

Lydia Thornley

London EC2