Curiosity killed the cat.

If our aim as designers is to communicate ideas, to break down complex details into simpler more manageable chunks, how do we determine what we can and can't simplify? How does the designer gain enough insight into an issue to properly communicate it to others? How do they know how to make those "others" interested in learning more? Are designers know-it-all mind-reader geniuses?! Ha! Unlikely!! 

Designers are inquisitive types though, and curiosity can lead one's mind in all manner of directions. Good designers will seek out what they do not know, they will search incessantly, they'll read, google, and ask a lot of questions of the people around them. They explore and interpret all the information they discover. And all good design really boils down to one thing... Research. 

We get curious, and we source everything there is to know, we sort that data as many different ways as possible and look for emerging patterns. We brainstorm all of the iconography and symbolism we could use to represent an issue, we consider it in the context of the target audience and the visual systems they find appealing. And only once we have all this information can we start to piece together considered design solutions. 

To design without researching, is to answer a question before it's been asked. 

Dig deep. 

Explore often. 

Be curious. 

A designer is not a cat. Research will not kill you.