The concept of design paradigms derives from the rather ambiguous idea of
paradigm
In science and philosophy, a paradigm ( ) is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitute legitimate contributions to a field. The word ''paradigm'' is Ancient ...
originating in the
sociology of science
The sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK) is the study of science as a social activity, especially dealing with "the social conditions and effects of science, and with the social structures and processes of scientific activity." The sociolo ...
, which carries at least two main meanings:
* As
models
A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , .
Models can be divided int ...
,
archetype
The concept of an archetype ( ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, philosophy and literary analysis.
An archetype can be any of the following:
# a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main mo ...
s, or quintessential examples of solutions to problems. A 'paradigmatic design' in this sense, refers to a design solution that is considered by a community as being successful and influential. Usually success is associated to market share or some other measure of popularity, but this need not be the case. For instance, the
eMate and other
Apple Newton
The Newton is a specified standard and series of personal digital assistants (PDAs) developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Computer, Inc. from 1993 to 1998. An early device in the PDA categorythe term itself originating with the Newtonit w ...
devices can be considered as paradigmatic because of their influence in subsequent designs, despite their commercial failure.
* As
sociological paradigms, a design paradigm is the constellation of beliefs, rules, knowledge, etc. that is valid for a particular design community. Here a paradigm is not a particular solution, but rather the underlying system of ideas that causes a range of solutions to be 'normal' or 'obvious'. A current example is the laptop: as of 2010 the design paradigm of laptops includes a portable computer unit consisting of a
QWERTY
QWERTY ( ) is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six Computer keyboard keys#Types, keys on the top letter row of the keyboard: . The QWERTY design is based on a layout included in the Sh ...
keyboard, a hinged screen, etc. Moreover, such device is assumed to be helpful in task such as education as in the
One Laptop per Child project.
While the first meaning of "design paradigm" refers to exemplary design solutions that create "design trends", the second meaning refers to what a group of people expects from a type of design solutions.
The term "design paradigm" is used within the
design
A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...
professions, including
architecture
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 construction, constructi ...
,
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 adva ...
and
engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
design, to indicate an archetypal solution. Thus a
Swiss Army Knife is a design
paradigm
In science and philosophy, a paradigm ( ) is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitute legitimate contributions to a field. The word ''paradigm'' is Ancient ...
illustrating the concept of a single object that changes configuration to address a number of problems.
Design paradigms have been introduced in a number of books including ''Design Paradigms: A Sourcebook for Creative Visualization'' by Warren Wake,
and discussed in ''Design Paradigms: Case Histories of Error and Judgment in Engineering'' but never defined by
Henry Petroski.
This concept is close to
design pattern
A design pattern is the re-usable form of a solution to a design problem. The idea was introduced by the architect Christopher Alexander and has been adapted for various other disciplines, particularly software engineering. The " Gang of Four" ...
coined by
Christopher Alexander
Christopher Wolfgang John Alexander (4 October 1936 – 17 March 2022) was an Austrian-born British-American architect and Design theory, design theorist. He was an Professors in the United States#Professor emeritus and emerita, emeritus profes ...
in ''
A Pattern Language''.
Design paradigms can be used either to describe a design solution, or as an approach to design problem solving. Problem solving occurs through a process of abstraction and characterization of design solutions, with subsequent categorization into problem solving types. The approach is akin to the use of metaphor in language; metaphors are used to help explain concepts that are new or unfamiliar, and to bridge between a problem we understand and a problem we don't. Design paradigms then can be seen as higher order metaphors; as the often three-dimensional distillation of a working relationship between parts, between groups of things, between the known and the unknown. In this sense, a bridge is a paradigm of the connection between the known and the unknown, and the functional equivalent of a physical bridge is consequently used in many fields from computer hardware to musical composition.
The design paradigms concept has proven so powerful in traditional fields of design, that it has inspired a branch of
computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
, where computational analogies to design paradigms are commonly called
software design pattern
In software engineering, a software design pattern or design pattern is a general, reusable solution to a commonly occurring problem in many contexts in software design. A design pattern is not a rigid structure to be transplanted directly into s ...
s. Importantly however, in design professions the term "design pattern" usually describes a 2-dimensional structure, whereas the term "design paradigm" (or model) usually implies a higher order, having 3 or more dimensions.
See also
*
Canonical protocol pattern
References
{{Design
Design