This essay proposes a visualist alternative to intentionalist functionalism in design theory, challenging its assumptions of stable function and linear relationships between a designer’s intent, an object’s form, and its proper use. Functionalism’s focus on predetermined functions fails to align with the dynamic and generative nature of everyday life, where design objects invite diverse, spontaneous engagements through their visual affordances. The visualist perspective emphasizes the expressive and emergent qualities of design objects, including the non-functional visual properties of function, arguing that their aesthetic and perceptual dimensions play a central role in shaping human interactions. By critiquing the ontological and epistemological illusion of functional stability, the essay proposes a design philosophy that acknowledges the richness of everyday encounters, the fluidity of functions, and the constructivist nature of perception.