Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system (as in architectural blueprints, engineering drawing, business process, circuit diagrams and sewing patterns) while “to design” (verb) refers to making this plan. No generally-accepted definition of “design” exists, and the term has different connotations in different fields (see design disciplines below). However, one can also design by directly constructing an object (as in pottery, engineering, management, cowboy coding and graphic design).
More formally, design has been defined as follows.
:''(noun) a specification of an
object, manifested by an
agent, intended to accomplish
goals, in a particular
environment, using a set of primitive components, satisfying a set of
requirements, subject to constraints;''
:''(verb, transitive) to create a design, in an
environment (where the designer operates)''
Here, a "specification" can be manifested as either a plan or a finished product and "primitives" are the elements from which the design object is composed.
With such a broad denotation, there is no universal language or unifying institution for designers of all disciplines. This allows for many differing philosophies and approaches toward the subject (see Philosophies and studies of design, below).
The person designing is called a ''designer'', which is also a term used for people who work professionally in one of the various design areas, usually also specifying which area is being dealt with (such as a ''fashion designer'', ''concept designer'' or ''web designer''). A designer’s sequence of activities is called a design process. The scientific study of design is called design science.
Designing often necessitates considering the aesthetic, functional, economic and sociopolitical dimensions of both the design object and design process. It may involve considerable research, thought, modeling, interactive adjustment, and re-design. Meanwhile, diverse kinds of objects may be designed, including clothing, graphical user interfaces, skyscrapers, corporate identities, business processes and even methods of designing.
Design as a process
Substantial disagreement exists concerning how designers in many fields, whether amateur or professional, alone or in teams, produce designs. Dorst and Dijkhuis argued that “there are many ways of describing design processes” and discussed “two basic and fundamentally different ways”, both of which have several names. The prevailing view has been called “The Rational Model”, “Technical Problem Solving” and “The Reason-Centric Perspective”. The alternative view has been called “Reflection-in-Action”, “co-evolution” and “The Action-Centric Perspective”.
The Rational Model
The Rational Model was independently developed by
Simon and Pahl and Beitz. It posits that:
# designers attempt to
optimize a design candidate for known
constraints and
objectives,
# the design process is plan-driven,
# the design process is understood in terms of a discrete sequence of stages.
The Rational Model is based on a rationalist philosophy and underlies the Waterfall Model, Systems Development Life Cycle and much of the engineering design literature. According to the rationalist philosophy, design is informed by research and knowledge in a predictable and controlled manner. Technical rationality is at the center of the process.) or service.
* Problem solving – conceptualizing and documenting design solutions
* Presentation – presenting design solutions
Design during production
* Development – continuation and improvement of a designed solution
* Testing – in situ testing a designed solution
Post-production design feedback for future designs
* Implementation – introducing the designed solution into the environment
* Evaluation and conclusion – summary of process and results, including constructive criticism and suggestions for future improvements
Redesign – any or all stages in the design process repeated (with corrections made) at any time before, during, or after production.
Each stage has many associated best practices.
Criticism of The Rational Model
The Rational Model has been widely criticized on two primary grounds
# Designers do not work this way – extensive empirical evidence has demonstrated that designers do not act as the rational model suggests.
# Unrealistic assumptions – goals are often unknown when a design project begins, and the requirements and constraints continue to change.
The Action-Centric Model
The Action-Centric Perspective is a label given to a collection of interrelated concepts, which are antithetical to The Rational Model. It posits that:
# designers use creativity and emotion to generate design candidates,
# the design process is improvised,
# no universal sequence of stages is apparent – analysis, design and implementation are contemporary and inextricably linked
The Action-Centric Perspective is a based on an empiricist philosophy and broadly consistent with the Agile approach and amethodical development. Substantial empirical evidence supports the veracity of this perspective in describing the actions of real designers. Like the Rational Model, the Action-Centric model sees design as informed by research and knowledge. However, research and knowledge are brought into the design process through the judgment and common sense of designers – by designers "thinking on their feet" – more than through the predictable and controlled process stipulated by the Rational Model. Designers' context-dependent experience and professional judgment take center stage more than technical rationality.
Criticism of the Action-Centric Perspective
As this perspective is relatively new, it has not yet encountered much criticism. One possible criticism is that it is less intuitive than The Rational Model.
Design Disciplines
Applied arts
Architecture
Fashion Design
Game Design
Graphic Design
Industrial Design Engineering
Interaction Design
Interior Design
Product Design
Process Design
Engineering Design
Instructional Design
Web Design
Service design
Philosophies and studies of design
There are countless philosophies for guiding design as the design values and its accompanying aspects within modern design vary, both between different schools of thought and among practicing designers. Design philosophies are usually for determining design goals. A design goal may range from solving the least significant individual problem of the smallest element, to the most
holistic influential
utopian goals. Design goals are usually for guiding design. However, conflicts over immediate and minor goals may lead to questioning the purpose of design, perhaps to set better long term or ultimate goals.
Philosophies for guiding design
Design philosophies are fundamental guiding principles that dictate how a designer approaches his/her practice. Reflections on
material culture and environmental concerns (
Sustainable design) can guide a design philosophy. One example is the
First Things First manifesto which was launched within the graphic design community and states "We propose a reversal of priorities in favor of more useful, lasting and democratic forms of communication - a mindshift away from product marketing and toward the exploration and production of a new kind of meaning. The scope of debate is shrinking; it must expand. Consumerism is running uncontested; it must be challenged by other perspectives expressed, in part, through the visual languages and resources of design."
In ''The Sciences of the Artificial'' by polymath Herbert Simon the author asserts design to be a meta-discipline of all professions. "Engineers are not the only professional designers. Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones. The intellectual activity that produces material artifacts is no different fundamentally from the one that prescribes remedies for a sick patient or the one that devises a new sales plan for a company or a social welfare policy for a state. Design, so construed, is the core of all professional training; it is the principal mark that distinguishes the professions from the sciences. Schools of engineering, as well as schools of architecture, business, education, law, and medicine, are all centrally concerned with the process of design."
Approaches to design
A design approach is a general philosophy that may or may not include a guide for specific methods. Some are to guide the overall goal of the design. Other approaches are to guide the tendencies of the designer. A combination of approaches may be used if they don't conflict.
Some popular approaches include:
KISS principle, (Keep it Simple Stupid, etc.), which strives to eliminate unnecessary complications.
There is more than one way to do it (TIMTOWTDI), a philosophy to allow multiple methods of doing the same thing.
Use-centered design, which focuses on the goals and tasks associated with the use of the artifact, rather than focusing on the end user.
User-centered design, which focuses on the needs, wants, and limitations of the end user of the designed artifact.
Critical design uses designed artifacts as an embodied critique or commentary on existing values, mores, and practices in a culture.
Methods of designing
Design Methods is a broad area that focuses on:
Exploring possibilities and constraints by focusing critical thinking skills to research and define problem spaces for existing products or services—or the creation of new categories; ''(see also Brainstorming)''
Redefining the specifications of design solutions which can lead to better guidelines for traditional design activities (graphic, industrial, architectural, etc.);
Managing the process of exploring, defining, creating artifacts continually over time
Prototyping possible scenarios, or solutions that incrementally or significantly improve the inherited situation
Trendspotting; understanding the trend process.
Philosophies for the purpose of designs
In
philosophy, the abstract noun "design" refers to a pattern with a
purpose. Design is thus contrasted with purposelessness,
randomness, or lack of
complexity.
To study the purpose of designs, beyond individual goals (e.g. marketing, technology, education, entertainment, hobbies), is to question the controversial politics, morals, ethics and needs such as Maslow's hierarchy of needs. "Purpose" may also lead to existential questions such as religious morals and teleology. These philosophies for the "purpose of" designs are in contrast to philosophies for guiding design or methodology.
Often a designer (especially in commercial situations) is not in a position to define purpose. Whether a designer is, is not, or should be concerned with purpose or intended use beyond what they are expressly hired to influence, is debatable, depending on the situation. In society, not understanding or disinterest in the wider role of design might also be attributed to the commissioning agent or client, rather than the designer. Some newer fields of design have built-in purposes and values, such as user-centered design, slow design, and sustainable design.
In structuration theory, achieving consensus and fulfillment of purpose is as continuous as society. Raised levels of achievement often lead to raised expectations. Design is both medium and outcome, generating a Janus-like face, with every ending marking a new beginning.
Terminology
The word "design" is often considered ambiguous, as it is applied differently in a varying contexts.
Design and art
Today the term design is widely associated with the
Applied arts as initiated by
Raymond Loewy and teachings at the
Bauhaus and
Ulm School of Design (HfG Ulm) in Germany during the 20th Century.
The boundaries between art and design are blurred, largely due to a range of applications both for the term 'art' and the term 'design'. Applied arts has been used as an umbrella term to define fields of industrial design, graphic design, fashion design, etc. The term 'decorative arts' is a traditional term used in historical discourses to describe craft objects, and also sits within the umbrella of Applied arts. In graphic arts (2D image making that ranges from photography to illustration) the distinction is often made between fine art and commercial art, based on the context within which the work is produced and how it is traded.
To a degree, some methods for creating work, such as employing intuition, are shared across the disciplines within the Applied arts and Fine art. Mark Getlein suggests the principles of design are "almost instinctive", "built-in", "natural", and part of "our sense of 'rightness'." However, the intended application and context of the resulting works will vary greatly.
Design and engineering
In
engineering, design is a component of the engineering process. Many overlapping methods and processes can be seen when comparing
Product design,
Industrial design and
Engineering. The
American Heritage Dictionary defines design as: ''"To conceive or fashion in the mind; invent,"'' and ''"To formulate a plan"'', and defines engineering as: ''"The application of scientific and mathematical principles to practical ends such as the design, manufacture, and operation of efficient and economical structures, machines, processes, and systems."''. Both are forms of problem-solving with a defined distinction being the application of "scientific and mathematical principles". The increasingly scientific focus of engineering in practice, however, has raised the importance of new more "human-centered" fields of design. How much science is applied in a design is a question of what is considered "
science". Along with the question of what is considered science, there is
social science versus
natural science. Scientists at
Xerox PARC made the distinction of design versus engineering at "moving minds" versus "moving atoms".
Design and production
The relationship between design and
production is one of planning and executing. In theory, the plan should anticipate and compensate for potential problems in the execution process. Design involves problem-solving and
creativity. In contrast, production involves a routine or pre-planned process. A design may also be a mere plan that does not include a production or engineering process, although a working knowledge of such processes is usually expected of designers. In some cases, it may be unnecessary and/or impractical to expect a designer with a broad
multidisciplinary knowledge required for such designs to also have a detailed
specialized knowledge of how to produce the product.
Design and production are intertwined in many creative professional careers, meaning problem-solving is part of execution and the reverse. As the cost of rearrangement increases, the need for separating design from production increases as well. For example, a high-budget project, such as a skyscraper, requires separating (design) architecture from (production) construction. A Low-budget project, such as a locally printed office party invitation flyer, can be rearranged and printed dozens of times at the low cost of a few sheets of paper, a few drops of ink, and less than one hour's pay of a desktop publisher.
This is not to say that production never involves problem-solving or creativity, nor that design always involves creativity. Designs are rarely perfect and are sometimes repetitive. The imperfection of a design may task a production position (e.g. production artist, construction worker) with utilizing creativity or problem-solving skills to compensate for what was overlooked in the design process. Likewise, a design may be a simple repetition (copy) of a known preexisting solution, requiring minimal, if any, creativity or problem-solving skills from the designer.
Process design
"Process design" (in contrast to "design process" mentioned
above) refers to the planning of routine steps of a process aside from the expected result. Processes (in general) are treated as a product of design, not the method of design. The term originated with the industrial
designing of chemical processes. With the increasing complexities of the
information age, consultants and executives have found the term useful to describe the
design of business processes as well as
manufacturing processes.
External links
Footnotes
Bibliography
Beck, K., Beedle, M., van Bennekum, A., Cockburn, A., Cunningham, W., Fowler, M., Grenning, J., Highsmith, J., Hunt, A., Jeffries, R., Kern, J., Marick, B., Martin, R.C., Mellor, S., Schwaber, K., Sutherland, J., and Thomas, D. "Manifesto for agile software development," 2001. Available: http://www.agilemanifesto.org/. Accessed: June 22, 2010
Bourque, P., and Dupuis, R. (eds.) Guide to the software engineering body of knowledge (SWEBOK). IEEE Computer Society Press, 2004.
Brooks, F.P. The design of design: Essays from a computer scientist, Addison-Wesley Professional, 2010, 448 pages.
Cross, N., Dorst, K., and Roozenburg, N. Research in design thinking, Delft University Press, Delft, 1992.
Dorst, K., and Cross, N. "Creativity in the design process: Co-evolution of problem-solution," Design Studies (22), September 2001, pp 425–437.
Dorst, K., and Dijkhuis, J. "Comparing paradigms for describing design activity," Design Studies (16:2) 1995, pp 261–274.
Faste, R., "The Human Challenge in Engineering Design," International Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 17, 2001
McCracken, D.D., and Jackson, M.A. "Life cycle concept considered harmful," SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes (7:2) 1982, pp 29–32.
Newell, A., and Simon, H. Human problem solving, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1972, 920 pages.
Pahl, G., and Beitz, W. Engineering design: A systematic approach, Springer-Verlag, London, 1996.
Pahl, G., Beitz, W., Feldhusen, J., and Grote, K.-H. Engineering design: A systematic approach, (3rd ed.), Springer-Verlag, 2007.
Ralph, P. "Comparing two software design process theories," International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology (DESRIST 2010), Springer, St. Gallen, Switzerland, 2010, pp. 139–153.
Royce, W.W. "Managing the development of large software systems: Concepts and techniques," Proceedings of Wescon, 1970.
Schön, D.A. The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action, Basic Books, USA, 1983.
Simon, H.A. The sciences of the artificial, (1st ed.), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, 1969.
Truex, D., Baskerville, R., and Travis, J. "Amethodical systems development: The deferred meaning of systems development methods," Accounting, Management and Information Technologies (10:1) 2000, pp 53–79.
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