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A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
, product, or
process
A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic.
Things called a process include:
Business and management
*Business process, activities that produce a specific se ...
. The verb ''to design'' expresses the process of developing a design. In some cases, the direct construction of an object without an explicit prior plan (such as in craftwork, some engineering, coding, and graphic design) may also be considered to be a design activity. The design usually has to satisfy certain
goals and constraints; may take into account aesthetic, functional, economic, or socio-political considerations; and is expected to interact with a certain
environment
Environment most often refers to:
__NOTOC__
* Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally
* Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
. Typical examples of designs include
architectural
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...
and
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
drawings,
circuit diagrams,
sewing patterns and less tangible artefacts such as
business process
A business process, business method or business function is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks by people or equipment in which a specific sequence produces a service or product (serves a particular business goal) for a parti ...
models.
Designing
People who produce designs are called ''
designers''. The term 'designer' generally refers to someone who works professionally in one of the various design areas. Within the professions, the word 'designer' is generally qualified by the area of practice (so one may be, for example, a
fashion design
Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...
er, a
product design
Product design as a verb is to create a new product to be sold by a business to its customers. A very broad coefficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products. Thus, it is a major aspect of n ...
er, a
web designer, or an
interior design
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...
er), but it can also designate others such as architects and engineers (see below: Types of designing). A designer's sequence of activities to produce a design is called a design process, using
design thinking and possibly
design methods
Design methods are procedures, techniques, aids, or tools for designing. They offer a number of different kinds of activities that a designer might use within an overall design process. Conventional procedures of design, such as drawing, can be reg ...
. The process of creating a design can be brief (a quick sketch) or lengthy and complicated, involving considerable research, negotiation, reflection,
modeling, interactive adjustment, and re-design.
Designing is also a widespread activity outside of the professions, done by more people than just those formally recognised as designers. In his influential book ''The Sciences of the Artificial'' the interdisciplinary scientist
Herbert A. Simon
Herbert Alexander Simon (June 15, 1916 – February 9, 2001) was an American political scientist, with a Ph.D. in political science, whose work also influenced the fields of computer science, economics, and cognitive psychology. His primary ...
proposed that "Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones". And according to the design researcher
Nigel Cross "Everyone can – and does – design", and “Design ability is something that everyone has, to some extent, because it is embedded in our brains as a natural cognitive function”.
History of design
Study of the history of design is complicated by varying interpretations of what constitutes ‘designing’. Many design historians, such as
John Heskett
John Heskett (26 May 1937 – 25 February 2014) was a British writer and lecturer on the economic, political, cultural and human value of industrial design. Heskett taught primary in the fields of design history and design thinking, and was a prof ...
, start with the Industrial Revolution and the development of mass production. Others subscribe to conceptions of design that include pre-industrial objects and artefacts, beginning their narratives of design in prehistorical times.
Originally situated within
art history
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
, the historical development of the discipline of design history coalesced in the 1970s, as interested academics worked to recognize design as a separate and legitimate target for historical research. Early influential design historians include German-British art historian
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
and Swiss historian and architecture critic
Sigfried Giedion
Sigfried Giedion (sometimes misspelled Siegfried Giedion; 14 April 1888, Prague – 10 April 1968, Zürich) was a Bohemian-born Swiss historian and critic of architecture. His ideas and books, ''Space, Time and Architecture'', and ''Mechaniza ...
.
Design education
Institutions for design education date back to the nineteenth century. The
Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry
The National College of Art and Design ( no, Statens håndverks- og kunstindustriskole) was established in 1818.
In 1996 the National College of Art and Design became part of Oslo National Academy of the Arts
The Oslo National Academy of the A ...
was founded in 1818, followed by the United Kingdom's
Government School of Design (1837),
Konstfack
Konstfack, or University of Arts, Crafts and Design, is a university college for higher education in the area of art, crafts and design in Stockholm, Sweden.
History
Konstfack has had several different names since it was founded in 1844 by the e ...
in Sweden (1844), and
Rhode Island School of Design
The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...
in the United States (1877). The German art and design school
Bauhaus
The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...
, founded in 1919, greatly influenced modern design education.
Design education Design education is the teaching of theory and application in the design of products, services and environments, and focusses on the development of both particular and general skills for designing. It is primarily orientated to preparing students fo ...
covers the teaching of theory, knowledge and values in the design of products, services and environments, and focusses on the development of both particular and general skills for designing. It is primarily orientated to preparing students for professional design practice, and based around project work and studio or
atelier teaching methods.
There are also broader forms of higher education in
design studies
Design studies can refer to any design-oriented studies but more formally is an Discipline (academia), academic discipline or field of study that pursues, through both theoretical and practical modes of inquiry, a critical understanding of design ...
and
design thinking, and design also features as a part of general education, for example within
Design and Technology
Design and Technology (D&T) is a school subject offered at all levels of primary and secondary school in England. It is used so children develop a range of designing skills and technology skills for example, using media to design their project. It ...
. The development of design in general education in the 1970s led to a need to identify fundamental aspects of ‘designerly’ ways of knowing, thinking and acting, and hence to the establishment of design as a distinct
discipline
Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...
of study.
Design process
Substantial disagreement exists concerning how designers in many fields, whether amateur or professional, alone or in teams, produce designs. Design researchers Dorst and Dijkhuis acknowledge that "there are many ways of describing design processes", and compare and contrast two dominant but different views of the design process: as a rational problem solving process and as a process of reflection-in-action. They suggested that these two paradigms "represent two fundamentally different ways of looking at the world positivism and constructionism". The paradigms may reflect differing views of how designing ''should be'' done and how it ''actually is'' done, and they both have a variety of names. The problem-solving view has been called "the rational model",
"technical rationality"
and "the reason-centric perspective".
The alternative view has been called "reflection-in-action",
"co-evolution",
[ and "the action-centric perspective".]
Rational model
The rational model was independently developed by Herbert A. Simon,[Simon, H.A. (1996]
The sciences of the artificial
, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA. p. 111. . an American scientist, and two German engineering design theorists, Gerhard Pahl and Wolfgang 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
In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary o ...
and underlies the waterfall model,[ systems development life cycle,][ and much of the ]engineering design
The engineering design process is a common series of steps that engineers use in creating functional products and processes. The process is highly iterative - parts of the process often need to be repeated many times before another can be entere ...
literature. According to the rationalist philosophy, design is informed by research and knowledge in a predictable and controlled manner.
Typical stages consistent with the rational model include the following:
* Pre-production design
**Design brief A design brief is a document for a design project developed by a person or team (the ''designer'' or ''design team'') in consultation with the ''client/customer''. They outline the deliverables and scope of the project including any products or work ...
– initial statement of intended outcome
**Analysis
Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...
– analysis of design goals
**Research
Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...
– investigating similar design solutions in the field or related topics
** Specification – specifying requirements of a design solution for a product (product design specification
A design specification is a detailed document that sets out exactly what a product or a process should present. For example, the design specification could include required dimensions, environmental factors, ergonomic factors, aesthetic factors, ma ...
) or service.
**Problem solving
Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...
– conceptualizing and document
A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" or ...
ing design solutions
** Presentation – presenting design solutions
* Design during production
** Development – continuation and improvement of a designed solution
** Product testing – '' in situ'' testing of 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
Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''"the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad q ...
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
A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to other known alternatives because it often produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or because it has become a standard way of doing ...
.
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.]
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
Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed literary w ...
and emotion
Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...
to generate design candidates.
# The design process is improvised
Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
.
# No universal sequence of stages is apparent – analysis, design and implementation are contemporary and inextricably linked.
The action-centric perspective is based on an empiricist philosophy and broadly consistent with the agile approach[ and methodical 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.
At least two views of design activity are consistent with the action-centric perspective. Both involve these three basic activities:
* In the reflection-in-action paradigm, designers alternate between " framing", "making moves", and "evaluating moves". "Framing" refers to conceptualizing the problem, i.e., defining goals and objectives. A "move" is a tentative design decision. The evaluation process may lead to further moves in the design.]
* In the sensemaking–coevolution–implementation framework, designers alternate between its three titular activities. Sensemaking includes both framing and evaluating moves. Implementation is the process of constructing the design object. Coevolution is "the process where the design agent simultaneously refines its mental picture of the design object based on its mental picture of the context, and vice versa".
The concept of the design cycle
A decision cycle is a sequence of steps used by an entity on a repeated basis to reach and implement decisions and to learn from the results. The "decision cycle" phrase has a history of use to broadly categorize various methods of making decision ...
is understood as a circular time structure, which may start with the thinking of an idea, then expressing it by the use of visual or verbal means of communication (design tools), the sharing and perceiving of the expressed idea, and finally starting a new cycle with the critical rethinking of the perceived idea. Anderson points out that this concept emphasizes the importance of the means of expression, which at the same time are means of perception of any design ideas.
Philosophies
Philosophy of design
Philosophy of design is the study of definitions of design, and the assumptions, foundations, and implications of design. The field, which is mostly a sub-discipline of aesthetics, is defined by an interest in a set of problems, or an interest in ...
is the study of definitions of design, and the assumptions, foundations, and implications of design. There are also many informal 'philosophies' for guiding design such as personal values or preferred approaches.
Approaches to design
Some of these values and approaches include:
* Critical design
Critical design makes aspects of future physically present to provoke a reaction. ''"Critical design is critical thought translated into materiality. It is about thinking through design rather than through words and using the language and structu ...
uses designed artifacts as an embodied critique or commentary on existing values, morals, and practices in a culture.
* Ecological design is a design approach that prioritizes the consideration of the environmental impacts of a product or service, over its whole lifecycle.
* Participatory design
Participatory design (originally co-operative design, now often co-design) is an approach to design attempting to actively involve all stakeholders (e.g. employees, partners, customers, citizens, end users) in the design process to help ensure t ...
(originally co-operative design, now often co-design) is the practice of collective creativity to design, attempting to actively involve all stakeholders (e.g. employees, partners, customers, citizens, end-users) in the design process to help ensure the result meets their needs and is usable.
* Scientific design refers to industrialised design based on scientific knowledge. Science can be used to study the effects and need for a potential or existing product in general and to design products that are based on scientific knowledge. For instance, a scientific design of face masks for COVID-19 mitigation may be based on investigations of filtration performance, mitigation performance, thermal comfort, biodegradability and flow resistance.
* Service design designing or organizing the experience around a product and the service associated with a product's use.
* Sociotechnical system design, a philosophy and tools for participative designing of work arrangements and supporting processes – for organizational purpose, quality, safety, economics, and customer requirements in core work processes, the quality of peoples experience at work, and the needs of society
* Transgenerational design
Transgenerational design is the practice of making products and environments compatible with those physical and sensory impairments associated with human aging and which limit major activities of daily living. The term ''transgenerational design'' ...
, the practice of making products and environments compatible with those physical and sensory impairments associated with human aging and which limit major activities of daily living.
* User-centered design, which focuses on the needs, wants, and limitations of the end-user of the designed artifact. One aspect of user-centered design is ergonomics.
Relationship with the arts
The boundaries between art and design are blurry, largely due to a range of applications both for the term 'art' and the term 'design'. Applied arts
The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing."Applied art" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art''. Online edition. Oxford Univers ...
can include industrial design
Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advan ...
, graphic design
Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...
, fashion design
Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...
, and the decorative arts
]
The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...
which traditionally includes craft objects. In graphic arts (2D image making that ranges from photography to illustration), the distinction is often made between fine art
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
and commercial art, based on the context within which the work is produced and how it is traded.
Types of designing
See also
References
{{Authority control
Product development