I think when design is focused on what it looks like, and on a certain look, that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be a great public place. Design is really about choreographing how people interact, and finding the ingredients to really encourage, instigate, activate, interaction and engagement and participation. In a sense you're much more like a bit of a movie director or a stage set choreographer.
James corner landscape architect

"The central concern of urban design must be humankind. We are designing, not for specific persons, but for the people and with the people. We must give careful thought to the man in the street who looks at buildings and moves around them. We must use our imagination and artistic capacities in trying to realize desirable places"
Jose Luis Sert