Human beings are influenced by design every day through continuous contact with functional form in and through visual culture. They encounter a continuous current of such new styles as clothing fashions, architecture, furniture and advertisements. The American pursuit of happiness has become related to an increasing flow of products and consumerism. Design has become big business and makes a tangible contribution to the economy. Americans have increased their appetite for good style and are demanding more and well-designed products. However, art educators are not demonstrating the same interest in design education dictated in the national standards, publications and enrichment programs created outside of the art education field. In this article, Vande Zande discusses the importance of functional design as an integral component of a contemporary art education that is responsive to a visual culture consumer-driven society. Noting the attention given to design by business leaders, museum programs, architectural foundations and the educational disciplines of civics, language arts, mathematics, science and technology, Vande Zande advocates that the time is propitious for art educators to take the lead in design education, directing students through a study of human nature in covering the creation, selection and arrangement of the objects in their environment. (Includes 3 photographs and 2 endnotes.)