Jorge Frascara and Dietmar Winkler On Design Research
Jorge Frascara and Dietmar Winkler On Design Research
Jorge Frascara and Dietmar Winkler On Design Research
DRW:
An Achievable Social Contract for this Century:
One emancipated step for design education and practice and mankind,
because it is much too urgent to postpone till tomorrow.
All disciplines go through evolutionary stages. At the end of the last century,
designs conceptual thinking, was still anchored in the knowledge of tradition-
al technical guilds and the aesthetics of the decorative arts. Design is still pri-
marily providing visualization and formatting skills. The assortment of projects
Continued p. 4 Q
Design Research Quarterly Publication Information
As we know, disciplines are not simply collections of facts, Middletown was widely read, and it transformed Ameri-
findings, or things known. They are also objects of study in cans pictures of themselves telling Americans who we are,
themselves. Any student of a discipline studies not only the what we want, and what we believe. (Igo p.3) Middletown
knowledge contributed by the field but the field itself. A dis- is credited as instrumental to the emergence of mass society,
cipline enframes and transforms the knowledge it compris- not just by what it found, but by social construction: creating
es, by providing a taxonomy, defining interrelations between a self-fulfilling social belief in the existence of averageness
its taxa and, in particular, by defining what is inside and as that mass society. It also permanently altered the rhetoric of
outside of its domain, thus, what should be studied or dis- discourse on social issues to one in which popular beliefs could
regarded, how it should be studied, and what can be done be trumped by data.
with the results. Middletown revealed averageness as a realm of inquiry that
As a communication designer, I have long been mysti- had been in plain sight, waiting to be looked at. The earlier in-
fied by my fields lack of disciplinary interest in the processes terests in problems such as deviance were not displaced but in-
at its heart: how the configuring of abstract elements in space corporated and subsumed under more comprehensive categories
and time constructs meaning. Without a disciplinary container, of grounded social theory that developed into a new, powerful
knowledge is borrowed and syncretic, an admixture of practical technology supporting a broad range of social analysis and en-
experiences and facts appearing sui generis, without reasoning gineering for a broad variety of purposes: a discipline.
or dialogue. No matter how many such fragments are brought How might this apply to design? One common notion of
together, they do not themselves produce a whole. design, as a pragmatic approach to addressing problems (rather
Nevertheless, there is no interest in a disciplinary under- than a systematic, disciplinary study of human interface) looks
standing of of communication design. It is as if there is no need like the social science interest in problems and deviance pre-
for it, or it is trivial, or it is invisible. ceding the leap. Communication design seems further behind,
Sarah Igos The Averaged American (Igo, 2007) describes at the time when norms were the teachings of the churches,
the origin of a new discipline in sociology: the empirical study and the received knowledge of the ancients. In the main, its ap-
of norms of behavior and beliefs in ones own society. The major proaches are intuitionist: its teachings based on traditions; its
event defining the arrival of this new discipline is a still famous instructional methods based on the atelier tradition of learning
1929 study, Middletown by Robert and Helen Lind. It was a from the master.
an overview of the town of Muncie Indiana based on historical What caused, the leap taken by Middletown? Igo attributes
studies and survey research. it to several streamsscientific, institutional, commercial, and
Surveys were not new, but they had been focused on ag- cultural and from the waging of war to the expansion of
gregate data (census), or on problems such as deviance or mar- national media. (Igo p.8), that is, the forces of modernization.
ginal groups: accident prevention, child welfare, truancy, and Other design fields such as experience design and HCI are ac-
venereal disease as well as Czechs, Greeks, Finns, and wid- tively researching and developing disciplinary knowledge, so it
ows. (Igo p.29). What Middletown sought was not deviance but may be that communication design simply becomes obsolete:
typicality or averageness: to discover what it actually was. It its functions absorbed into other fields.
avoided defining the issues to study. It was organized accord-
ing to a general, anthropological taxonomy of work, family,
raising children, leisure, religion and civic activities. Within
that organization, it was possible for the issues and essential Igo, Sarah (2007) The Averaged American: Surveys, citizens and the making
of a mass culture. Cambridge, Harvard University Press
dimensions of the town to reveal themselves the urbaniza-
tion and industrialization of an agrarian culture, patriotism, a
sharp social division into two classes, race, the effects of the
automobile on sexual relations, and so forth.
has not significantly changed: posters, book jackets, menu of design? Where are the intellectual resources, the holding
and CD covers, reports, pamphlets, books, and now web tanks for research on color, readability/legibility, visual lan-
pages. The only additions over the past decades have been guage and visual literacy (beyond Itten, Gerstner, Klee, Kan-
graphic and typographic information explications (useful dinsky, Dondis, etc.)? Where is the vision of institutions like
in newspapers, magazines, textbooks, and exhibitions) and the Kansas City Art Institute? Their leadership seems totally
a current interest in the evolution of internet-related com- out of touch with contemporary reality. At the University of
munication. The content, even the context of design, is still Illinois, I found greater interests and deeper understanding
usually researched, declared, and defined by others. In short, of communication and visual literacy among students in
little has changed. Graphic designers provide style but not software engineering, robotics, and linguistics than among
contents or context. undergraduate and graduate students majoring in design.
The electronic communication world of today is impa- If universities fail to recognize that, even in 2008, design
tiently waiting for design to emerge from its technical and education is being taught at vocational skill levels, nothing
vocational cocoon to begin initiating, facilitating, and man- will happen. If universities threaten to and finally jettison
aging new concepts as intelligent authors, researchers and the anti-intellectual programs in design education, or force
developers of content. Designers have technical tools for them to grow deep connective roots with the other true cam-
typography, graphics, illustration, movement and sound. pus disciplines, then, and only then, will we see movement
Those tools afford the opportunity to construct information toward fulfilling designs potential. By the same token, when
environments and to begin to author content related to com- accrediting agencies in the U.S. like NASAD (National As-
plex contexts and sociological issues. This gives designers sociation of Schools of Art and Design) and the other profes-
opportunities to bite-off projects of larger scope and greater sional spokes-organizations, like AIGA (American Institute
social relevance. of Graphic Arts) openly express dissatisfaction with the edu-
Is it not strange that after fifty years of supposedly out- cation delivered by the majority of American schools, some-
standing design education taught by graduates from pres- thing will happen and very fast.
tigious schools, the contents/quality of design education
has not increased or become more sophisticated? Instead, JF:
design education has been compacted and condensed, and Social relevance
the Gibbs schools now list preparation for graphic design Social relevance is indispensable if the design effort is to
next to criminal justice, and other social, health, and pro- make sense and push the development of design research,
grammatic careers in hospitals, physician offices, clinics, education and practice. One must find a need to be addressed;
insurance companies, geriatric and assisted living facilities, it can be an extreme need, such as teaching Africans to avoid
including cosmetology, and body massage. Design has come AIDS contamination, or a simpler need, like making phone
a long way, baby! Unfortunately, down hill. bills easier to understand. Most of the efforts in the design
The American Institute of Graphic Arts was founded as a profession are now directed at activating the consumer
small, exclusive New York club in 1914, just about the time market; hence this article will not deal with that side of the
of the emergence of marketing and business sciences, and profession, which is well taken care of. Confronting impor-
about twenty years later than the American Medical Associa- tant human problems would put our best resources to the
tion. Researchers at medical schools and teaching hospitals test. In front of such problems, deficient design responses
represented by the AAMC (Association of American Medical become immediately visible. Solving complex social prob-
Colleges) have been responsible for many medical break- lems requires concerted intelligent research and action; one
throughs. As major centers of medical research, the nations cannot just resort to routine knowledge and methods. One
medical schools and teaching hospitals conduct more than need not go far away and look at tragic settings to find inter-
half of all extramural research sponsored by the National esting problems. Everyday needs, such as properly laying
Institutes of Health. From new approaches in prevention out scientific communication (i.e. cutting down the time it
and diagnosis to successful treatments and cures, research takes to a medical doctor to consult pharmaceutical infor-
advances pioneered at AAMC member institutions have dra- mation in a document), or designing devices that facilitate
matically improved the health of our nation. So, what hap-
pened to the AIGA and the other professional associations
Continued p. 5 Q
older people perform daily tasks (bottle openers and the like), Interdependence is undeniable, and the need to take action to
can provide a long list of possibilities for the development of achieve sustainable development more urgent than ever before.
design responses to genuine daily needs of people. June Zeitlin, Executive Director, Womens
As Dietmar notes, the demand for design intervention Environment and Development Organization
is normally determined by the client. If designers want to
be socially relevant, we must become active agents in the Design must be involved in issues more complex than
identification of problems, because clients only see a need social entertainment. The United Nations Millennium Dec-
for design when that need has become obvious. Corpora- laration agreement was adopted by a hundred eighty-nine
tions and government agencies normally know about only world leaders, highlighting the following concerns, among
advertising, corporate image, publication design and signage. others:
People at large from the top to the bottom of education and ccHuman values and principles of conduct;
financial power do not see the possibilities that design ccPeace, security and disarmament;
could offer in the management of daily life, or in addressing ccEconomic development, poverty eradication;
ills in society. Unfortunately, good examples of such designs ccEnvironmental preservation, protection and
do not abound, nor are they publicly visible; good design is rehabilitation;
often invisible. Scientific content specialists, such as com- ccHuman rights and participatory governance;
puter engineers, medical doctors and lawyers are normally ccProtecting the vulnerable sectors of society, such as
the ones who prepare communication documents, leaving the young, aged, and underprivileged because of
the designers out of the picture. To complicate things fur- lack of health services, education, economic support,
ther, not all designers are good document designers, most or opportunities;
are trained as specialists in styling. In addition, people tend ccGlobal focusing on the special needs of countries;
in general to accept things as they are, believing in a quasi ccStrengthening the relationships between nations;
fatalistic way that the way they are is the way they have to ccHumanitarian assistance.
be. Karel van der Waarde in Belgium (van der Waarde 2006), (http://www.un.org/
Karen Schriver in the USA (Schriver 1997) and David Sless millennium/declaration/ares552e.htm)
in Australia (Penman & Sless 1994) are good examples of
designers who generate useful design work through an ef- In view of the enormously long list of severe and poten-
fort to demonstrate to clients the difference they can make to tially devastating social world problems, including over-pop-
the clients management of activities. They work on the ba- ulation, economic melt-downs and famine, it would be of
sis of an informed practice, building on existing knowledge conspicuous importance and urgency that educational in-
through a consistent implementation of research methods stitutions, and the design programs they house, join forces,
in their design processes. form consortia or other cross-institutional curricular col-
laborations, and pledge unambiguous commitment to de-
DRW veloping pragmatic educational programs that support the
An invitation to shape human existence for the urgent timetables, goals, and objectives of the UN Millen-
better nium Declaration, which is just about to pass its first de-
cades milestone.
We face many development challenges, but it is no good tackling Even the brief list above presents enormous opportunities
them piecemeal. Each of them affects all the others. We need to for conceptualizing large information environments through
tackle them all together, with a common strategy, a clear timetable, research, which is ideal for communication design, as each
and measurable targets. of the possibilities relies on communication skills. But most
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan designers have been ill prepared for these tasks by their in-
stitutions. There is a distinct difference between graphic de-
Activists do not ask, why act?, but rather when?, where? and
how? These dedicated and courageous individuals are important
partners in the quest for a better, fairer and safer world.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan
Continued p. 6 Q
sign as useless styling and communication design as a way dexterity the device required was above the ability of many
of supporting a social discourse between diverse segments potential users. This is the beauty of designing for specific
of society. Thus, design programs should: contexts with specific users in mind; it becomes possible to
ee develop efficient and supporting communication tools evaluate the quality of the design response. The difficulties
to promote solutions for problems; are perceived during the development of the product, when
ee offer federal, state, and local governments their they can be fully addressed.
services to facilitate local, regional, national, and inter- I taught a workshop on user-centered communication
national efforts for developing and disseminating design with Guillermina Nol at the invitation of Chris My-
innovative plans for achieving the goals within reason- ers at the Philadelphia University of the Arts. When a team
able timeframes; of students showed their first redesign of a pharmaceuti-
ee facilitate the adoption of their plans. cal leaflet to the users, the users indicated their preference
to the existing one. It took an effort to reposition students
and eliminate the aesthetic preferences they had acquired to
JF
produce something that was genuinely better than the exist-
Professional relevance ing design. Without including user research in the design
In addition to the social relevance we are proposing here process, there is little hope that a novel and good design
as a departure point, the design response to a problem can proposal will be created.
become professionally relevant. This happens when the When defining the purpose of an intervention, the ob-
process followed and the methods used support the valid- jectives must be achievable and measurable. There have to
ity and reliability of the solutions proposed. A well-solved be good grounds to believe that what is intended is achiev-
design problem becomes a methodological model that can, able on the basis of previous experience, or on some other
with some adaptive effort, be transferable to other situations. indicator that could support the objectives proposed. The
Given the current lack of education in reliable methods objectives proposed should relate to measurable or verifi-
within the Communication Design curricula, research- able results, making it possible to assess whether the ef-
based professional practice confronting human problems fort was worthwhile, the extent to which the objectives were
can become an integral source of new information for design achieved, and what corrective actions might improve the
to expand its knowledge base. performance of the design. This might imply an iterative
alternation between design and research, certainly involving
Defining a purpose for a design intervention the user population.
A design intervention must have a clearly stated purpose: it
should be based on the recognition and definition of a reality Information gathering
that needs to be changed. To do this, it is essential to estab- Once the purpose of an intervention has been defined and
lish the operational objectives of the project, that is, what possibly, re-defined one has to identify the full scope of
the project is supposed to do (not how it is supposed to look) intended users of the existing or proposed design device, so
(Cross & Roy 1975), and to recognize the intermediate objec- as to really understand how the design is or shall be used.
tives that must be met in order to achieve the final ones. The Information gathering requires imagination, insight and
final objectives of any communication design project focus tenacity. It also requires sensitivity and an unprejudiced ap-
on the response of the public. This response can be verified proach. Skills in listening and observing without imposing
in attitudes, knowledge, or behavior. heavy personal filters are rare. It is always difficult to step
Here are a couple of examples. At the Master of Medical into someone elses shoes. Social anthropology can teach
Design of the University IUAV of Venice students dealt with us a great deal about the observation of peoples behaviors.
real problems perceived at the hospital and after the patients When one designs objects or communications one has to be
go home. One student designed a device to help old people aware that users do not come empty and naked. People use
manage the daily taking of multiple drugs. The device was products in very many ways that are often unrelated to their
smart, linking visual design, mechanics and electronic com- intended purposes. People come to a product with guesses
munications, but when discussing the proposal with the Di- and expectations derived from their personal experiences
rector of Geriatrics, the director pointed out that the manual
Continued p. 7 Q
and needs. As design researchers, we need to recognize the between patterns. The system associated letters to back-
difficulties we face when trying to get to know the other: ground patterns. Once the patterns were distinguished, the
their histories, expectations, and particular needs. children were able to transfer that ability to the perception of
shapes and edges. (Nelson et al 1981, Frascara 1980).
Method, but not only method When Ronald Shakespear changed the public name of his
The design process cannot be reduced to a mechanistic set client and called Subte to Subterraneos de Buenos Aires
of steps. Method without imagination contributes very little (the underground trains operator), he was taking advantage
to the design profession and the solution of complex design of popular language to establish a brand that already had
projects. Having a set of steps to follow helps achieve a rea- deep roots.
sonable level of performance, but if one seeks a high level This was work done with imagination, open mind-
of performance, one should remember Niels Bohr, when he edness, and alertness to a broad field of possibilities: in-
said to a colleague: No, no, you are not thinking; you are dispensable components of good research, which goes
just being logical. (Frish 1979, 1) beyond the mechanic application of proven methods.
Defining the purpose of a design project and including a
thorough array of intermediate objectives requires an alert
mind, flexible strategies, good working memory, and a clear DRW
idea of the final goal. Many times, this involves abandoning A call for institutional, professional and individual
a strategy that seemed logical but was the result of tunnel altruism: professional concern for the welfare of
vision. others
Michael Burke was designing diagrams and pictograms When Susan Hockfield, President of MIT (Massachusetts
explaining how to assemble a device to illiterate Africans Institute of Technology) outlined her ambitious agenda
when it became apparent that they could not understand for that institution in 2006, her vision was clearly broader
graphic information. Instead of making the information and wider than producing mere technologically keen, inge-
clearer, or larger, or supporting it with verbal explanations, nious gadgets and processes, or notoriety and financial suc-
he made a paper model that could be cut out and assembled cess. She was looking for transformational advances that
as a way to demonstrate how the real object should be put change society for the better, including advances in educa-
together. tion, health, and medicine. In her efforts, she asked for the
Working for a patient with aphasia, Guillermina Nol re- melding of social and physical sciences with all other tech-
alized that instead of designing a tool to help the patient nological disciplines to bring about a truly positive revolution
communicate verbally, so he could again interact socially, with direct benefits for the world citizenry. She envisaged a
she could better achieve her final objective by designing a great circle of research disciplines informing a cauldron
board game, so the patient could interact without resorting of intellectual collaboration.
to his very reduced speech.
In research on the effectiveness of different safety mes- The significant shift from simple to complex design
sages for the backs of school buses, I found that the best thinking
strategy was not to write a new message or to select a new Her address continued a half-century of MIT history. It did
typeface, but to wash the buses. not actually begin with Robert W. Mann in the late 1960s,
During World War II, Tom Nelson learned how pilots but he contributed greatly as engineer, rocket scientist, and
were able to estimate their altitude without instruments, developer of the worlds first biomedical prosthetic device. He
through the types and scales of surface textures they saw changed my approach to design at that time. I had worked on
on the ground, and how very simple animals like cats and the design of the inauguration material for another new MIT
crocodiles distinguish visual textures from one another, but president, which he oversaw, and we became good friends.
not shapes. He hypothesized that visual patterns could help As he freely shared his knowledge and attitudes with Univer-
teach letters to children whose lack of immediate memory
prevented them from learning the shapes of the letters.
Working with me, he developed a system for teaching let-
ters to children that capitalized on the ability to distinguish
Continued p. 8 Q
sity of Massachusetts graduate students, I began to recognize fields as a unified field, mostly in the hands of printers serv-
him not just as an engineer, but also as a leader in the field ing the state or religion and their constituents, from which
of design, turning design into an intelligent discipline. the universities and the publishing industry emerged. Then
Mann was involved in sensory aids evaluation and Braille broadsides offering opposing political positions and the op-
computer translation systems for the blind: applying his portunities for social dialogue enabled journalism to emerge,
pioneering in computer-aided design and his experience while the inclusion of announcements of skills, products,
in powering rocket systems to his commitment to helping and services ushered in the advertising industry. Then, the
those with disabilities. From the mid 1960s, his research emerging technologies of photography, cinema, video, and
was focused primarily on the application of technology to digital typography, design, and communication further im-
human disabilities. Manns Boston Arm was the first ar- pacted each of the areas, as specialization separated and re-
tificial limb to rely on a combination of biology and technol- fined them. The various needs in education, health, welfare,
ogy for its control: using the electrical impulses, connecting government, industry, and commerce allowed specialized
brain and muscles to power biomechanical devices. Mann areas of expertise to emerge in the categories of informing,
studied anatomy, skeletal joints, the biomechanical role of educating, and entertaining, separately, but also in many
cartilage, measurements of skeletal and tissue pressures, possible and varied combinations.
and also the behavioral and emotional ramification of his The current situation in design education is confusing.
design a truly multidisciplinary approach to designing. On post-graduate levels, institutions are struggling to evolve
The public still credits engineering and science almost positions. What is most interesting is that many schools pres-
exclusively for the success of moon explorations, while the ent courses that deal with office and project planning and
scientists involved recognize this amazing human success management or translation of traditional problems through
as collaboration in form of sharing responsibilities, not only emerging technologies, but very few deal in any depth with
across disciplines and expertise, but continents, peoples, and the complex, expansive and pervasive field of human com-
global politics. While listening to why Robert Mann made munication. Undergraduate education makes great distinc-
the switch from powering rockets to empowering people, tions between visual and technical design subjects and
it became very clear that design as it was and still is taught isolates design from the rest of the university. There is little
at most art/design schools, is irrelevant. Manns chart of crossover between design projects and the core university
disciplinary interactions showed a decision tree of great com- education as represented by its distribution requirement
plexity branching out from the project to very specific areas courses. There is no deep introduction into the evolution
from the biological, behavioral, social and material sciences; of thought, language, and logic; the new generations know
mechanical, electronic and computer engineering; among little about communication, at least beyond Marshall McLu-
many others. He said: Success? You cant just measure the han headlines and information bytes I know, he would be
tip of the iceberg. That part of perception belongs to the horrified. The result is that those who are asked to reveal the
public and journalists. They like to focus on the heroic. But culture to others are not better informed or educated than
the designer needs to look at the whole lock, stock, and the general public, sometimes less.
barrel the major submerged part and be responsible for Cannot the demise of true graphic imaging concen-
the good as well as the warts and all of the project. tration and endurance of skilled and time-consuming in-
Designers are responsible for the entire design process, teractions between hand and eye, tools and materials, and
from beginning to end, not just that part in which they see decisions and choice from a larger range of technologies are
themselves as experts or which provides them with notoriety. tested, rather than the expedience of software packages like
What is the long-term effect of a design solution on a culture, Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop be laid directly at the feet of
on behavior, relationships? While the designed object may the majority of design educators? Have not they themselves
be ephemeral, the negative or positive impact is lasting. It been trained in their graduate programs to abandon their
is true that even research directions that result in little, can craft and become institutional administrators and politicians,
contribute greatly to better understanding, when informa- full of talk but totally incapable of crafting an image or letter-
tion is openly shared. form? But then, did not this approach to image-collage start
Looking at the chronology the progression from Guten-
bergs legacy communication design started like many
Continued p. 9 Q
already with designers like Bradbury Thompson at Yale, who knowledge reservoir considerably. Henriques proposed the
institutionalized the process of blending photographs, type, Tree of Knowledge System (2004), also known as the ToK
and appropriated graphics, like cuts of maps and historical System, for the theoretical unification of scientific knowl-
images, graphic marks and signets, and who, as stated by edge. It depicts knowledge as consisting of four levels or
Communication Arts, influenced the design of a generation dimensions of complexity, namely Matter, Life, Mind, and
of art directors? Only the association with Armin Hofmann, Culture, that correspond to the behavior of four classes of
and faculty like Inge Druckery, Philip Burton and others, objects: material objects, organisms, animals, and humans;
rounded out the visual design experience at Yale. and four classes of science: physical, biological, psychologi-
The past decade ended on many positive tones. Buckmin- cal, and social. Henriques argues that developing such a
ster Fuller closed out the last century, and left for design system for integrating knowledge is not just an academic en-
a vital legacy of synergy, suggesting a vigorous discourse terprise in an increasingly complex world. The fragmented
between disciplines (which has not been realized as of yet state of knowledge can be seen as one of the most pressing
by most design programs, especially those housed in art social problems of present time.
schools or remote from interactions with the other vital dis- In many ways design resembles the incoherence that
ciplines). Fuller asked designers to understand relationships psychology tries to bring into focus through the analogy of
possible interactions, independence and interdependence the Tree of Knowledge System: recognizing that there is no
between all disciplines progressing from isolation to syn- single agreed upon definition, no agreed upon subject mat-
ergy, recognizing the discrete advantages of the contribu- ter; that there is a proliferation of overlapping and redundant
tions, revelations, and influences of disciplines upon each concepts, a large number of paradigms with fundamentally
other, acting together or sharing knowledge to find solutions different epistemological assumptions, and that specializa-
for complex problems, and create greater effect than could tion continues to be increasingly emphasized at the expense
be produced by the disciplines operating independently or of generalization, thus encouraging further fragmentation.
in parallel. The ToK System offers the opportunity of moving academic
Fullers lifelong goal was to initiate the development of knowledge toward the interlocking of fact and theory into a
a Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Science in an at- coherent, holistic view of knowledge, by offering new per-
tempt to foreshadow and solve humanitys major problems spectives on how knowledge is obtained because it depicts
through high technology, by providing more and more life how science emerges out of culture and that the four di-
support for everybody, with fewer and fewer resources. Full- mensions of complexity correspond to four broad classes
ers Spaceship Earth envisaged a positive way of finding of science.
answers to his recurring question: Does humanity have In trying to translate the Tree of Knowledge into design,
a chance to survive successfully, and if so, how? He was it becomes clear that the education that most designers re-
not alone; many futurists recognized that his time, defined ceive does not prepare them for a world of complexification,
by divisive tendencies to inhibit, separate, and control na- which requires the integration of knowledge from various
tions, races, religions, sciences and humanities, synthesis disciplines, or provides the analytical tools to foster informa-
would be the right banner to unify human beliefs. As his- tional syntheses. The vocational aspects of design education,
tory seems to attest, the absence of a collective worldview traditional and electronic, prevail.
condemns humanity to endless conflicts that inevitably stem
from incompatible, partially correct, locally situated systems JF
of justification. Thus, from the perspective of Gregg Hen- Identifying the intellectual resources required
riques, a clinical psychologist and faculty member of the A design project is normally interdisciplinary. Very seldom
Combined-Integrated Doctoral Program at James Madison does a designer work on a product to be used by designers.
University, there are good reasons to have a shared knowl- Even in that case, does one know how to approach design-
edge about humanity; more could be achieved, on higher ers? Does one know how designers perceive, learn, remem-
and greater levels, and to the benefits of more people. ber, interact with information and use it? Can one refer to
A good example of efforts by other disciplines may make designers as (if they were) a homogenous group? Although
clear the great dynamic paradigm shifts that have trans-
pired in the latter part of the twentieth century altering the
Continued p. 10 Q
the segmentation of the public is an indispensable strate- IBM or Microsoft office desk, geared to support the annual
gy when it comes to designing effective communications, company goal declaration, even if the image may be engross-
every segment is formed by a cluster of profiles: profiles ing and commanding attention. These assignments with-
that share many traits but that also differ in many ways out context teach little about the complexity in intercultural
from one another. When working on traffic safety commu- communication.
nications planning and trying to reach the 18 to 24 year-old Depending on the intellectual isolation of the designer,
males who were highly exposed to the risk of collision, I a solution can turn out to be destructive rather than con-
had to go through a long process of fine-tuning. Conven- structive. Designers should remember the responsibility of
tional information about the psychological and social pro- physicians to the medical oath (first, do no harm), even
file of the age and gender group was too general. Males 18 if, on the surface, this seems a preposterous request for the
to 24 appear over-represented in the statistics, but looking current design vocation. It is not an unreasonable demand
closer, only 3% of that population was involved in injury for a profession that wishes to be admitted to an association
collisions. The question was: is this a random occurrence, of disciplines. It is true that the ephemeral works of commu-
or are there definable differences between this 3% and the nication designers rarely inflict lasting physical pain. But it
remaining 97? is also clear, that without question, and with great frequency,
An important step in any research project is to recognize their work alters to its detriment, the culture for which they
the personal limitations one has in terms of the knowledge are responsible.
required to confront a problem and to identify who could Designs alter interactions between segments of society.
have the required knowledge and experience. When I began Because of its institutional and corporate sponsorship, de-
to do research in traffic safety I hired an expert for the first sign habitually increases rather than reduces the distance
set of focus groups I organized. This expert was used to do between the privileged and disadvantaged by its one-sid-
research for marketing, and his approach had to be adjusted edness and through the careless heightening of anxieties
as we went along, because some practices of marketing re- in persons who confront their need to comprehend obtuse,
search like deception are not acceptable in social research, opaque, and dense vernaculars or legalese, in communica-
or at least in the kind of dialogue I wanted to establish with tions produced by institutions, corporations, and religious
the participants. This experience, nevertheless, served me and federal agencies for their mercantile, banking, invest-
to understand the mechanics of the method. ment, marketing and political goals. Communication design
By my experience, traffic safety research groups are a often wastes valuable time and resources of learners and
good case of interdisciplinarity, involving social scientists, citizens who seek information through precise, fast, and
road engineers, health personnel, public servants, police of- reliable modes. The work often obscures and obfuscates in-
ficers and law makers, and working with private groups such stead of easing the comprehension of competing and incon-
as Mothers Against Drunk Driving. gruous issues. Expedient, shallow concepts interfere with
logical decision-making in the public arena, even though
DRW democratic governance requires informative communica-
All communication, in many ways, deals with conflict resolu- tion, and each citizens social contract, at birth, promises
tion, especially if author or sender of the message and receiv- equal access to all services as well as free speech and move-
er inhabit different psychological, behavioral, educational, ment. But most importantly, designers, without blinking,
economic, social, political/ideological, religious or cultural willfully estrange and separate rather than bring together,
platforms or environments. Philosopher Hans Georg Gad- warping social perceptions of human worth, not just for a
amer believed that a fusion between two or more horizons moment but for decades to come.
is always necessary to aid in any communication process.
Communication design programs rarely deal with the com- JF
plex issues encountered in the process of negotiation to level Outlining a method to meet a purpose
the communication planes for better understanding. Stu- There are methods that serve as general structures for the
dents resolve issues, disconnected from a real and pragmat- organization of the steps of a design process. At a higher
ic context, mostly from their own experience, even though level of detail, there are methods that help in the finding
everybody does know that one cannot save whales from an
Continued p. 11 Q
of reliable information and methods that help creating new 9. Feedback to design development.
information. The headings of all design and research meth-
ods, however, are empty intentions. Methods help intelligent Each one of these steps involves research. The richest of
action be efficient, they do not help incompetent imitators these steps in variety of possibilities might be information
do good research. gathering, since there we can find literature research, fo-
Methods in design research need to be adapted to prob- cus groups, anthropological observation, expert interviews,
lems, and need to develop as one moves forward in a project. user interviews, role playing (including user trips), and user
Methods provide good checklists and departure points. They testing.
help remember that that should be done, and when. Other However, as I said above, design and research methods
methods help define how something could be done: help- only help intelligent action, they do not generate it.
ing to chart future moves and permitting the generalization Under the name of the widely spread participatory de-
of procedures. But more than taking an off-the-shelf, ready- sign method, I have seen inadequate objects designed with
made structure to meet the purpose of a design project, de- users, or by following users wishes too far. Participatory de-
signers need to depart from existing knowledge, conscious sign when used by a sensitive and experienced designer can
that every design situation benefits from new knowledge, be a useful help; in the hands of an inexperienced designer it
that is, if one wishes to find the best possible response to a can provide the mistaken feeling of being right, even when
design problem, and if one aspires to enriching the collective one is not. Participatory design is viewed by many as the Fer-
reservoir of the profession. Note that I say response and rari of the user focused design research methods. A Ferrari,
not solution. I do not think design problems can be solved, however, would not help a blind person drive. It will not even
they can only be reduced. One can conceive responses that help an ordinary driver. The priorities of a project involve
are always possible to improve at a future stage, when more choices, choices are judgment calls, and judgment involves
information becomes available, or when a more intelligent assigning value to information, an operation that is too com-
designer meets the problem. plex and varied to be definable by a series of steps.
The general model I tend to use as a departure point To make things more complicated, Alexander adds: We
for my design process is based on work by Christopher Al- know that we shall never find requirements which are totally
exander, Nigel Cross, Robin Roy, John Chris Jones, Bruce independent. If we could, we could satisfy them one after the
Archer, Gregory Bateson, and David Sless, who have specifi- other, without ever running into conflicts. The very problem
cally discussed design methods, but I also derive my way of of design springs from the fact that this is not possible be-
working from Ron Easterby, Harm Zwaga, Anthony Wilden, cause of the field character of the form-context interaction.
Edward Hall, Ronald Shakespear, Richard Saul Wurman, (Alexander 213) This calls for a discussion of the situations
Claude Lvi-Strauss, Jean Paul Sartre, Gilles Deleuze, Felix of inplementation.
Guattari, Herbert Spencer, Jean Piaget, Edgar Morin, Maria
Montessori and many others listed in the references below. The situation of implementation
Method and substance are always intertwined; ways of work- Many designers have moved from a concern with objects to a
ing are ways of thinking, and they affect not only how we concern with people. The design of an object is only a means
do things, but also what we do. My design process generally to meet a need that affects people. We have to understand
involves nine steps: peoples needs and wishes, and create the objects that meet
1. Contact with the client them. The objects that we create are embedded in peoples
(or initiation of project by myself); actions and situations. They become contextualized, rede-
2. Information gathering; fined, and transformed through use. We must be sensitive
3. Conception of the design strategy, including to the environments where our design products come to life
performance specifications; and to the people who use them.
4. Design development and production; In the education field we should change from designing
5. Evaluation of the product or parts thereof; teaching aids to designing teaching situations. The success
6. Refinement; of a learning experience cannot be trusted to the design of
7. Implementation; a teaching aid. The whole activity has to be planned so that
8. Performance evaluation;
Continued p. 12 Q
the teaching aid contributes its best to the experience. Many To close
details enter this terrain, but certainly the teachers actions, ccThe more one knows a problem, the better one can deal
the students actions and the environment in which the in- with it.
tervention occurs, contribute to the learning event and must ccExisting knowledge is normally insufficient to deal with
be seen as part of the design problem. This problem is not a new situation: hence the need for research.
only intellectual, but also emotional. We know that people ccResearch is always useful, not only to produce a good
learn better when they want to learn. We should think not design proposal, but also to defend it.
only in cognitive terms when designing teaching aids, but ccEvery design problem is interdisciplinary, and therefore
also in motivational terms. The material should both mo- it requires information and experts from various areas
tivate the teacher to teach and the student to learn, and it of knowledge.
should become, in a way, theirs. ccEvery design project involves the design of how to collect
Something similar affects the working environment. We information that is sufficient, precise and reliable.
should move from the design of work stations to the design ccThe methods used to collect the information must be
of work. Despite all we know today about ergonomics, it is appropriate, since this determines the reliability of the
not possible to invent and design the perfect chair on which a information collected, that is, its defendability.
person could be sitting for eight hours a day, five days a week, ccThe frontiers of applicability of the information collected
without becoming physically fatigued in one way or another. must be clear, since this defines its external validity, that
It would be wiser to design a work pattern which, including is, the relevance of the conclusions to other situations.
the design of furniture and tools, would be centered on the ccThe interpretation of results should be carefully attend-
design of the activities to be performed, on the efficiency ed to. This establishes the internal validity of a con-
of the persons work, and also in support of the persons clusion, that is, the degree to which the cause-effect
wellbeing. Henry Fords idea of the efficiency of the assem- relationship affirmed by the conclusions of a research
bly line has for long been recognized as flawed, based on a process is defendable.
misconception of human work. Good design research, aimed
at solving a performance problem, often uncovers a social The purpose of research in design is to orient the practice;
problem. All this of course, defines the design problems as it should help make things well. At a higher level of abstrac-
interdisciplinary. Design problems are not only technical, tion, it can be oriented toward the development of theories
they are above all, human. and methods. Design practice can involve research, but in
and of itself, design practice is not research. Without research
Evaluating the design intervention we are left with intuition based on existing knowledge.
Every design intervention is a working hypothesis. In order Research involves the generation of new knowledge; it
to evaluate the extent to which the objectives of a project have is different from information gathering, which is only the
been met, these objectives must have been clearly articulated organization of existing knowledge. Information gathering
from the beginning, and criteria for the assessment of the could be the first step of a research program. Studies at the
design action must have been spelled out. A design prod- Master level in design are oriented at equipping the student
uct must respond to a number of concerns; the more the with the existing knowledge of a design field: the student
concerns can be articulated before and during the design becomes a master in a clearly defined terrain, acquiring an
process, the better the response will be. The evaluation of experience that can become a methodological model for de-
performance should go beyond comparing different alter- sign and research. Doctoral research must be oriented at
natives, because testing alternative solutions only allows
us to choose the best option available, not the best option
possible.
Continued p. 13 Q
Jorge Frascara
Professor Emeritus, Department of Art and Design, University of
Alberta; Fellow of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada; Member
of the Icograda Past-Presidents Forum; Member of the Editorial Boards
of Design Issues (Carnegie Mellon University/MIT), and Information
Design Journal (John Benjamins); International Fellow, Society for the
Science of Design (Japan), Advisor, Doctoral program, University IUAV of
Venice, Italy, and contributor to its Master in Medical Design.
He has organized several international conferences and design educa-
tion projects, has been advisor and reviewer of several design education
programs and has lectured and made presentations in twenty-six coun-
Continued p. 14 Q
tries. He was Chairman of Art and Design at the University of Alberta Hartley, James (2004). Designing instructional and informational text. In Jonassen, D.
(1981-86), President of Icograda (1985-87), and Convener of the ISO TC145 H. (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology
(2nd. ed.). Mahwah, N. J. USA: Erlbaum, pp. 917-947
SC1 WG2, Design Criteria for Public Information Symbols (1977-84). Higginbotham, James B., and Cox, Keith C. (1979). Focus Groups Interviews: A Reader.
He is the author of Communication Design (Allworth Press, 2005); Chicago, USA: American Market Association.
Hofstadter, Douglas (1979). Gdel, Escher, Bach: An eternal golden braid. New York,
User-Centred Graphic Design, Mass Communication and Social Change USA: Vintage.
(Taylor & Francis, London, 1997); and editor of Designing Effective Lakoff, George & Johnson, Mark (1980). Metaphors we Live by. Chicago, USA:
University of Chicago Press.
Communications (Allworth press, 2006); of Design and the Social Lvi-Strauss, Claude (1969). The Raw and the Cooked. New York, NY: Harper and Row.
Sciences, Making Connections (Taylor & Francis, 2002); of Graphic McGuire, William J. (1985). Attitudes and Attitude Change. In Lindzey, G. & Aronson,
Design, World Views (Kodansha, Japan, 1990); and of the ISO Technical E. (Eds.) The Handbook of Social Psychology, Vol.2, third edition. New York, USA:
Random House, pp. 233-346.
Report 7239, Design and Application of Public Information Symbols (ISO, Meurer, Bernd (1994). The Future of Space. Frankfurt, Germany: Campus Verlag.
Geneva, 1983). He has also published three books in Spanish and more Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on
our capacity for processing information. The Psychological Review 63, 81-97.
than 50 articles internationally. Morin, Edgar (1977/1992). Il Metodo. Milano, Italy: Feltrinelli.
He has juried many design exhibitions and competitions and has con- Nelson, Thomas M., Nilsson, Thomy and Frascara, Jorge (1981). Information in letter
backgrounds and acquisition of reading skills. Reading Improvement, 18 (No.4),
ducted research with the support of various Canadian organizations, has 287-94.
been Board of Directors Member, Communication Research Institute of Ogilvy, David (1983). Ogilvy on Advertising. New York, USA: Crown Publishers.
Penman, Robyn and Sless, David (1994). Designing Information for People. Hackett,
Australia (CRIA) and Editorial Advisor, Tipogrfica, Argentina. His profes- Australia: Communication Research Institute of Australia.
sional experience includes illustration, film animation, advertising and Rimbert, Pierre (2008). A quoi servent-ils? Le Monde-Diplomatique, 99, Juin-juillet
graphic design, and now concentrates on research and development of 2008. Retrieved June 2008 from: www.monde-diplomatique.fr/mav/99/
Schriver, Karen (1997). Dynamics in Document Design. New York, NY: John Wiley.
visual communications for safety and information design. Shakespear, Ronald (2003). Seal de Diseo. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Infinito.
Spencer, Herbert. (1968). The Visible Word. London: Hastings House.
Tinker, Miles A. (1963). Legibility of print. Aimes, USA: Iowa University Press.
References Tufte, Edward (1983). The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Cheshire,
Alexander, Christopher (1979). Notes on the Synthesis of Form. Cambridge, Mass. Connecticut, USA: Graphics Press.
USA: Harvard University Press. van der Waarde, Karel (2006). Visual information about medicines for patients. In
Appleton, J. (1975). The Experience of Landscape. London, UK: John Wiley. Frascara, J. Designing Effective Communications. New York, USA: Allworth, 38-50.
Ary, D., Jacobs, L.C., Razavieh, A. & Sorensen, C. (2006). Introduction to Research in Wilden, A. (1987). The Rules Are No Game. New York, USA: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Education. Toronto, Canada: Thomson/Wadsworth. Wright, Patricia (1981). Informed design of forms. Information Design Journal, vol. 2.
Bateson, Gregory (1972). Steps to an Ecology of Mind. New York, USA: Ballantine.
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UK: Open University.
Bocchi, G. and Ceruti, M. (Eds.) (1992). La Sfida della Complessit. Milano, Italia:
Feltrinelli.
Deleuze, Gilles and Guattari, Felix (1987). A Thousand Plateaus. Minneapolis, USA:
University of Minnesota Press.
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ISO Tests 1979/80 Series, Report 70. Birmingham, UK: University of Aston.
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Enriques, Gregg. (2004-05). The tree of knowledge. Journal of Clinical
Psychology, December 2004 and January 2005. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Tree_of_Knowledge_System
Frascara, Jorge (2007). Hiding Lack of Knowledge: bad words in design education.
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Frascara, J. (Ed.) Design and the Social Sciences: Making Connections. London, Past issues on the web
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Frascara, Jorge (1999). Cognition, emotion and other inescapable dimensions of http://www.drsq.org
human experience. Visible Language, 33.1, pp 74-89.
Frascara, Jorge (1997). User-Centred Graphic Design: Mass Communication and Social
Change. London, UK: Taylor & Francis.
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Hall, Edward (1966-1990). The Hidden Dimension. New York, USA: Random House.
Architectural Design, 78:4 Metabolism and morphology (26-33) Membrane spaces (74-79)
Special Issue: Protoarchitecture: Michael Weinstock Michael Hensel, Achim Menges
Analogue and Digital Hybrids cc an account of the dynamics of natural KK Developing membrane structures: the
Jul. Aug. 2008: metabolisms [suggesting] an agenda findings of a series of membrane-research
issn: 0003-8504 web link for the development of metabolic mor- studios
phologies of buildings and cities
Versatility and vicissitude: an introduction Aggregates (80-87)
to performance in morpho-ecological Material performance (34-41) Michael Hensel, Achim Menges
design (6-11) Michael Hensel, Defne Sunguroglu, Achim cc [arguing] for a better understanding of the
Michael Hensel, Achim Menges Menges behaviour of [aggregates] in order
cc Redefining the utilitarian debate on per- cc researching the characteristics of wood in that they can be used in their loose form
formance by redefining form as the multi- order to explore how a materials variable [requiring] a radical departure from
tude of effects, the milieu of conditions, behaviour and its response to extrinsic architectural design based on assemblies
modulations and microclimates that stimuli might substantially contribute to and assembly processes
emanate from the exchange of an object performance-oriented design
Environmental intensifiers (88-95)
with its specific environmenta dynamic Manufacturing performance (42-47) Aleksandra Jaeschke
relationship and performance as the Achim Menges cc developments in fibre-reinforced compos-
synthesis of this dynamic making form cc Freeform construction, a collaborative ite material
and function less of a dualism and more of effort to develop construction-scale rapid
a synergy that aspires to integral design Engineering ecologies (96-101)
manufacturing processes
solutions and an alternative model for Peter Trummer
sustainability Performance-orientated design precursors cc a shift from physics to biology as the
and potentials (48-53) underlying paradigm of engineering and
Form, force and structure: a brief history Michael Hensel with it a fundamental change in the way
(12-19) cc the potential of past approaches to pas- we conceive and practise architecture
Remo Pedreschi sive environmental modulation as a re-
cc The work of Robert Maillart, Pier Luigi Designing morpho-ecologies: versatility
worked spatial paradigm for design that
Nervi, Eduardo Torroja, Felix Candela, and vicissitude of heterogeneous space
interrelates material, spatial and environ-
Heinz Isler and Eladio Dieste illustrate (102-111)
mental dynamics with dynamic patterns of
the important changes and contributions Michael Hensel, Achim Menges
habitation
that have taken place and how they influ- cc theoretical and methodological framework
ence the way we think about performance Inclusive performance: efficiency versus for morpho-ecological design in architec-
from an engineering point of view. effectiveness towards a morpho-ecological ture, illustrating it further with two proj-
approach for design (54-63) ects that combine research and design
Form, force, performance: multi-parametric Michael Hensel, Achim Menges
structural design (20-25) cc morpho-ecological approach to design
Klaus Bollinger, Manfred Grohmann, Oliver [challenging] some of the most deeply
Tessman entrenched dogmas of architecture as a
cc challenging the 20th century classifica- material practice, such as the notion of
tion of structures according to defined efficiency in design and construction
building typologies [that] was central to
engineering design Complex brick assemblies (64-73)
Defne Sunguroglu
cc current research on brick [as] a
material with unlimited possibilities,
almost completely ignored by modern
technology
Continued p. 16 Q
AI EDAM: Artificial Intelligence Human-competitive evolved antennas The interaction design research triangle of
for Engineering Design, Analysis (235-247) design practice, design studies, and design
and Manufacturing: 22:3 Jason D. Lohn, Gregory S. Hornby, Derek S. exploration (4-18)
Special issue on genetic program- Linden Daniel Fallman
ming for human-competitive de- cc a case study showing a human-competi- cc a model of interaction design research
signs tive design of an evolved antenna that was that has evolved at the Ume Institute of
Aug. 2008 deployed on a NASA spacecraft in 2006 Design, Ume University, in Sweden
issn: 0890-0604 Web Link
Automated ab initio synthesis of complete Crafting a place for interaction design
Human-competitive machine invention by designs of four patented optical lens research in HCI (19-29)
means of genetic programming (185-193) systems by means of genetic programming Jodi Forlizzi, John Zimmerman, Shelly
John R. Koza (249-273) Evenson
cc Genetic programming now routinely John R. Koza, Sameer H. Al-Sakran, Lee W. cc a new model of interaction design re-
delivers human-competitive machine Jones search in HCI intended to allow designers
intelligence for problems of automated cc how genetic programming has been used to participate more evenly
design and can serve as an automated as an invention machine to automatically
Designindicating through signs (30-45)
invention machine. synthesize complete designs for four
M. Cecilia C. Baranauskas, Rodrigo Bonacin
optical lens systems that duplicated the
Evolutionary synthesis of kinematic cc proposing a framework in which we have
functionality of previously patented lens
mechanisms (195-205) articulated ideas coming from semiotics
systems
Hod Lipson to conduct work in interactive system
cc Discusses the application of genetic Machine invention of quantum computing design
programming to the synthesis of com- circuits by means of genetic programming
Prototyping social interaction (46-57)
pound two-dimensional kinematic mecha- (275-283)
Esko Kurvinen, Ilpo Koskinen, Katja Battarbee
nisms, and benchmarks the results against Lee Spector and Jon Klein
cc A prototype is not only a representation
one of the classical kinematic challenges cc The use of genetic programming in the
but consists of both the representation
of 19th century mechanical design. automatic invention of quantum comput-
and the social interaction the participants
ing circuits that solve problems of poten-
Automated synthesis of mechanical create together.
tial theoretical and practical significance.
vibration absorbers using genetic program- Emergent interaction: creating spaces for
ming (207-217) Evolving blackbox quantum algorithms
play (58-71)
Jianjun Hu, Erik D. Goodman, Shaobo Li, using genetic programming (285-297)
Ben Matthews, Marcelle Stienstra, Tom
Ronald Rosenberg Ralf Stadelhofer, Wolfgang Banzhaf, Dieter
Djajadiningrat
cc an automated methodology for open-end- Suter
cc methodological concerns such as how we
ed synthesis of mechanical vibration cc a genetic programming system that uses
should seek to understand what is built
absorbers based on genetic programming some new techniques to develop and
and how it is usedthe implementation
and bond graphs. improve quantum algorithms
of technology and its appropriation
Cooperative bodybrain coevolutionary Design Issues: 24:3
The design of implicit interactions: making
synthesis of mechatronic systems (219-234) Summer 2008
interactive systems less obnoxious (72-84)
Jiachuan Wang, Zhun Fan, Janis P. Terpenny, Interaction Design Research in
Wendy Ju, Larry Leifer
HCI
Erik D. Goodman issn: 0747-9360 web link cc The values and principles that govern
good desktop computing interactions may
Introduction (1-3) not apply when we apply computing to the
Shelly Evenson, Jodi Forlizzi, John rest of our lives.
Zimmerman
Continued p. 17 Q
User interface design principles for Embedded brand: the soul of product The mathematics of brand satisfaction
interaction design (85-107) development (37-46) Chris Rockwell
Adream Blair-Early, Mike Zender Guido Stompff cc As a company establishes a brand, the
cc What designers need to improve interface cc Stompff asks if a brands essence can be expectations increase for that brand to
design is a conceptual framework that can understood and conveyed intuitively. as deliver with equal or better qualitythe
spur innovation. The parameters and themes employees absorb as unstated but price of success for big brands, which
principles we hope, as Winterowd very real dimensions of the corporate must constantly innovate and over-deliver
suggests, will have the power to not culture. if they are to maintain reputation and
only organize material, but also drive mindshare.
Experiential design drives an established
inventive development.
brand to a youthful market (45-52) Design Philosophy Papers, 1:2008
Design Management Review, 18:4 Judi Jacobs, Jeff Hackett ISSN 1448-7136 web link
The Designful Company cc how the companys in-house creative team
The liquid drop: exposing & utilising
Spring 2008 designed a youth-inspired, interactive
issn: 1460-6925 web link difference in the design process
experience to deliver a compelling
Britt stlund, Annika Olsson, Bodil Jnsson
commentary on safety and, more subtly,
The designful company (p9-15) cc When a group of researchers from physics,
to introduce the corporate brand to a new
Marty Neumeier engineering and social science met to
audience
cc To succeed, companies must be agile, discuss ageing and the involvement of
nurture inventiveness, and have an enter- How tangible is your brand? (52-57) older users in design innovation, the idea
prise-wide appetite for radical ideas. Mary Weisnewski of the sphere arose in the discussion and
cc the tale of a consulting firm that looked to became the focus for understanding
The road to authentic brand is littered with
branding not only as a way to nurture user-driven innovations.
design (15-20)
client loyalty and generate new work but
David Lemley HCI: towards a critical research position
also as a path to sustaining the internal
cc An abiding employee commitment to the Eric Stolterman & Anna Croon Fors
values, mission, and identity of its
brand . [is] an evangelical spirit that cc We explore and propose a research posi-
business
marks the intersection of brand building, tion by taking a critical stance against
business strategy, and design. Inventing brands: opportunities at the unreflective acceptance of digital technol-
nexus of semiotics and intellectual ogy and by acknowledging peoples life-
Brand inside meets brand outside (19-28)
property (57-66) world as a core focus of inquiry.
Karl D. Speak, Gilman Hanson,
James G. Conley, J. Duncan Berry, Laura
cc their work to determine Argosys brand
DeWitt, Mark Dziersk
ethos, as well as the steps they take lever- Debate
cc how a clear understanding of the messag-
aging that reality to create a robust Intro
es and power inherent in the visual dimen-
brand platform that motivates employ- Anne-Marie Willis
sion of a brand can be linked with other
ees and engages the target market
unique content to extend the range and Everyday truths?
The socio-cultural role of brand in business competitiveness of offerings William McNeill & Carleton Christensen
value creation (27-37)
Achieving brand-driven business success What is so sustainable about services?
Caroline A.A. Meads, Pradeep Sharma,
(65-74) C. Christensen
cc The benefits of brand can accrue not only
Connie Birdsall, Neil Johnston
to companies and consumers but also to
cc Brand-building, when done correctly,
society at large.fostering loyalty and
embraces more than visual design ele-
profits to nurturing corporate social
ments, encompassing a firms product
responsibility to stimulating the funda-
and service line brands, as well as the
mental human desire to come together as
corporate brand, all linked in a logical
a group.
and well-conceived strategy that also
informs employees behaviors.
Continued p. 18 Q
Voice of sustainment Deciding about design quality: design Focus on the learning styles of freshman
The gap in the ability to sustain perception during a European tendering design students (254-266)
Tony Fry procedure (387-409) Halime Demirkan, . Osman Demirba
cc to explore how we might think about the Leentje Volker, Kristina Lauche, John L. cc This study explores learning styles of
gap between rhetoric and action as it Heintz, Hans de Jonge freshman design students. Findings
exists alongside what still remain con- cc Systematic consideration of stakeholder showed that the distribution of design
fused articulations of the actual problems input and expert evaluation do not pre- students was concentrated in assimilat-
by those organisations who claim to be clude a holistic judgement including both ing group with coordinates close to the
change agents setting out to deliver rational and emotional aspects of archi- intersection of the axes of the Learning
solutions tectural quality. Implications for models of Style Type Grid. Freshman design stu-
quality perception and selection proce- dents are more related to the analytical
Design Studies, 29:4
dures are discussed. skills of theory building, quantitative
2008
issn: 0142-694x web link analysis and technology. They have
RE: Definitions of use (410-423)
better behavioural skills compared to
Johan Redstrm
Acquiring information from linkography in perceptual learning skills.
cc The paper analyses relations between
protocol studies of designing (315-337)
design and use with focus on how open a Candidate worldviews for design theory
Jeff W.T. Kan, John S. Gero
design (process) is with respect to defini- (267-303)
cc This paper proposes methods to acquire
tions of use through use. It transforms Per Galle
information from linkography in protocol
the relation between design and use into a cc a method by which the philosophy of
studies.Cluster analysis is able to group
question not of who, but of how. design may develop sound metaphysical
the linkograph into meaningful clusters,
foundations (worldviews) for design
while entropy measures the opportunities Design Studies, 29:3
theory and generate philosophical insights
for idea development of a team and can 2008
issn: 0142-694x web link into design at the same time
also reflect the opportunistic contribu-
tions of individual participants. Viewpoint
The role of timing and analogical similarity
Design education in Brazil (304-312)
Workflow Integration Matrix: a framework in the stimulation of idea generation in
Ricardo Manfredi Naveiro, Regina Celia de
to support the development of surgical design (203-221)
Souza Pereira
information systems (338-368) Ian Tseng, Jarrod Moss, Jonathan Cagan,
A. Jalote-Parmar, P. Badke-Schaub Kenneth Kotovsky Design Studies Award (313)
cc [using] theories of human behaviour in cc the effects of open goals, fixation, and
problem solving to provide evidence- priming, as well as their implications in Information Design Journal,
based decision-making for the develop- design problem solving 16:2, 2008
ment of new surgical technologies issn: 0142-5471 web link
The impact of tangible user interfaces on
Barriers and enablers for creating shared spatial cognition during collaborative Does the taxman need a face? effects of
understanding in co-design projects design (222-253) including photographs and examples in a
(369-386) Mi Jeong Kim, Mary Lou Maher tax form; a field experiment with senior
Maaike Kleinsmann, Rianne Valkenburg cc The use of TUIs changed designers spatial citizens in The Netherlands (85-100)
cc This paper explores what the barriers and cognition, and that these changes affected Carel van Wijk, Anja Arts
enablers are for the creation of shared the design process by increasing their
An interview with Louis Rosenfeld (101-106)
understanding during a co-design process problem-finding behaviours leading to
Saul Carliner
in industry. The effectiveness of creat- creative design.
ing shared understanding is not only
dependent on face-to-face communication,
but also on project management and
project organization.
Continued p. 19 Q
Are animated demonstrations the clearest design educationto provide an impetus Designing a utopia: an architectural studio
and most comfortable way to communicate for the study and a springboard for discus- experience on David Harveys Edilia
on-screen instructions? (107-124) sion regarding the relevance of traditional (181-191)
Jos Marconi Bezerra de Souza, Mary Dyson Filipino arts in a predominantly Nese Gurallar Yesilkaya
Westernised educational system. cc a studio project in order to improve
Research challenges (125)
progressive thinking and critical thought
How can we create the conditions for
in the design education of architectural
Literary potential: the unexplored powers students freedom of speech within studies
students and also future architects.
of reading (126-132) in art? (133-143)
Frank Hakemulder Miranda Matthews Art at the mall: a look at the aesthetics of
cc how the dynamics of students voice can popular mall art culture (192-201)
Typography and disciplinary identity in
be productively brought into teaching Ilona Szekely
academic writing (133-147)
situations cc Where does an art student, or the general
Louise J. Ravelli, Sue Starfield
public learn about buying art? How much,
The contemporary art of collaboration
Research watch (148-155) if any, of this process is happening in the
(144-157)
art class?
Sheridan Hon
Book Review
cc [confounding] the effects of a comprehen- The Night owl learning style of art
Communicating rights: The language of
sive schools limitations . [by allowing] students: creativity and daily rhythm
arrest and detention. Frances Rock
hundreds of participants of all ages to (202-209)
(156-158)
collaborate in a partnership to engage Sy-Chyi Wang, Jin-Yuan Chern
with art as a creative process. cc [examining] the deep-rooted night owl
Persuasive messages: The process of
image of art practitioners and [calling
influence. William Benoit, Pamela Benoit White heat or blue screen? digital technol-
for] a consideration of the time for
(159-161) ogy in art & design education (158-167)
learning in art
Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas
International Journal of Art and cc international research on the adoption of Book Reviews (210-215)
Design Education ICT in schools and colleges, specifically Arts-based research in education: founda-
27:2, Jun. 2008 examples of good practice in art and tions for practice. Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor
issn: 1476-8062 web link design education and reviews trends in and Richard Siegesmund (eds.)
technology to determine the benefits and
Autonomy of artistic expression for adult
limitations for future practice Art rules: Pierre Bourdieu and the visual
learners with disabilities (116-123)
arts. Michael Grenfell, Cheryl Hardy
Graham C. Young The act of looking: Wolfgang Isers literary
cc [confirming] The use of computer technol- theory and meaning making in the visual
The problem of assessment in art & design.
ogy (CT) in art to offer the chance for arts (168-180)
Trevor Rayment (ed.)
self-fulfilment for disabled artists by Olga M. Hubard
increasing control over artistic choices cc the process through which five teenagers
and providing for self expression with only discover meaning in an abstract sculpture
minimal assistance required from others by artist Isamu Noguchi: how the young
viewers arrived at a series of readings that
Insights into the integration of traditional
were elicited by the qualities of the work
filipino arts in art and design education:
and that built upon each other in a sort of
voices from the academe (124-132)
snowballing process
Cynthia B. Loza, Allan B. de Guzman,
Regalado T. Jose
cc the first segment of a qualitative study
that explores the feasibility of integrating
traditional arts in Philippine art and
Continued p. 20 Q
Continued p. 21 Q
Journal of Urban Design, Volume Integration of immersive walking to analyse Museums as urban catalysts: the role of
13 Issue 1 2008 urban daylighting ambiences (99-123) urban design in flagship cultural develop-
ISSN: 1469-9664 (electronic) 1357- Souha Tahrani; Guillaume Moreau ment (195-212)
4809 (paper) cc the methodology of sunlight effects Carl Grodach
analysis of both real and virtual worlds and cc an aspect of the flagship cultural strategy
Cities afootpedestrians, walkability and a framework for a comparison that has received surprisingly little focused
urban design (1-3) attentionthe role that urban design and
Space syntax and walking in a new urbanist Walking and rhythmicity: sensing urban
context play in realizing project outcomes
and suburban neighbourhoods (5-28) space (125-139)
Perver K. Baran, Daniel A. Rodriacuteguez, Filipa Matos Wunderlich Envisioning citizenship: toward a polity
Asad J. Khattak cc Walking practices [as] choreographed approach in urban design (213-229)
cc whether space syntax measures in New wholes of multiple place rhythms, [im- Michael Rios
Urbanist and conventional suburban pacting] on the rhythmical continuums cc [argument] for a polity approach in the
neighbourhoods are associated with the of urban places, influencing and suggest- planning and design of public space
walking patterns of residents in these ing their tempo.
Haussmann and Le Corbusier in China:
communities,. relationships between the Planning for child pedestrians: issues of land control and the design of streets in
number of leisure trips and all three syn- health, safety and social justice (141-145) urban redevelopment (231-256)
tactical measures Brian D. Johnston Daniel Benjamin Abramson
The relationship of neighbourhood built cc using contrasting cases of morphological
Journal of Urban Design, Volume
environment features and adult parents change and street design to examine the
13 Issue 2 2008
walking (29-51) ISSN: 1469-9664 (electronic) 1357- political-economic basis of urban design.
Mariela Alfonzo, Marlon G. Boarnet, Kristen 4809 (paper) Preferences for car-restrained residential
Day, Tracy Mcmillan, Craig L. Anderson areas (257-267)
cc beyond examining correlations of individu- Hippodamus rides to Radburn: a new
Aloys Borgers; Danille Snellen; Jos Poelman;
al built environment features and walking, model for the 21st century (163-176)
Harry Timmermans
to begin to test proposals about which Fanis Grammenos, Barry Craig, Douglas
cc effects of restrained car access on prefer-
composite characteristics of the built Pollard, Carla Guerrera
ences for new residential areas how
environment may have the greatest cc the Hippodamian grid concept in its
effects can be compensated for
impact on walking historical context and attempts to refor-
mulate it in a contemporary planning
Urban greenways, trail characteristics and framework that encourages walking
trail use: implications for design (53-79)
Greg Lindsey; Jeff Wilson; Jihui Anne Yang; Toward modernist urban design: Louis
Christopher Alexa Kahns plan for central Philadelphia
cc how remote sensing technologies and (177-194)
geographic information systems (GIS) can Non Arkaraprasertkul
be used to enhance modelling of urban cc the debate between architect Kahn and
greenway trail traffic and relationships planner Edmund Bacon. the economic
between trail design and trail use needs of the public realm [versus] the
powerful form and the system of move-
How far, by which route and why? a spatial ment at large
analysis of pedestrian preference (81-98)
Asha Weinstein Agrawal; Marc Schlossberg;
Katja Irvin
cc a survey of pedestrian trips to transit that
examined the trip lengths and route choic-
es made by people walking to five rail
transit stations in California and Oregon
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