Design is both...and neither; it is a way of thinking. Over the past week, I have been becoming more and more frustrated with individuals who even after witnessing "The Future of Design" conference have a static definition of design.
I realize my way of thinking and practice of design are my own and no other's, but I find it completely unacceptable to work with anyone who wants to force their perception of design onto me, and worse yet, onto a group.
As a designer, I do not feel it is my duty to pick up the schizophrenic pieces of mechanisms and circuit boards and attempt to put them into a cohesive package. Worse yet, then make the package valid conceptually post-construction.
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Rather than validate our efforts, this backwards process completely invalidates them. Beyond the end result, this practice is having disastrous effects on group cohesion. Without developing a key concept first, we have lost the "mental glue" that binds us together towards a common purpose.
I disagree with your first statement about the "ongoing debate" - perhaps a misattribution / misunderstanding of what I believe. To be clear, I think that "design is how it works," design is why the thing should exist in the first place, and that design is a process. I do NOT believe that design is a veneer.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, it should be clear that I agree with your desire for a central idea / overall purpose to drive the design. But we must keep in mind that in a team setting, our interpersonal skills / manner may have as much to do as anything else with the failure of the group to converge on a coherent idea that could drive the design and make it effective.