Communication &

Multimedia Design

Design Theory
Lecture 01: What is design?

Bas Leurs (b.l.f.leurs@hr.nl)

February 10, 2014
 Is design cognition a black box?

Input Output

Also see Jones (1970) on black and glass boxes

 Design theory tries
to describe or explain
design activity
Th i s le c t u r
e
What is design?

How do designers think and act?

And why do we actually design?

Th i s le c t u re
 communication design
architecture
webdesign
product design
graphic design
social design
information design

industrial design
educational design
interaction design

engineering design

environmental design interior design

Categories of Design
experience design sound design

service design
interface design

editorial design
typographic design
user experience design
soft ware design

emotional design game design

database design
strategic design
Some definitions
of design...
Jot down three keywords
that you think should be
found in the definition of
design
 noun ve rb noun noun

Design is to design a design to produce a design

a gen era l a pla n

c o n c ept or
a n action i nte nti u t c o m e/
on the o
re s u lt

John Heskett (2005)

 ?
p rofe s s io n

Design is a profession that is concerned with the

creation of products, systems, communications and
services that satisfy human needs, improve peoples
lives and do all of this with respect for the welfare of
the natural environment.

Charles Owen (2004)

 Designers are people who
are paid to produce visions of
better futures and make those
things happen.

Koskinen, Zimmerman, Binder, Redstrom & Wensveen (2011)

 The imaginative jump from
present facts to future possibilities

Page (1966)
 a bi l i t y?

"Design is the ability to imagine

that-which-does-not-yet-exist, to make it
appear in concrete form as a new,
purposeful addition to the real world."

Harold Nelson & Erik Stolterman (2002)

The Design Way: Intentional Change in an Unpredictable World
 Design is about making decisions,
often in the face of uncertainty
Joseph Zinter (2012)

Decision making in the face of

uncertainty, with high penalties for error
Asimow, 1962
 Designers typically produce novel
unexpected solutions, tolerate uncertainty,
work with incomplete information, apply
imagination and constructive forethought
to practical problems and use drawings
and other modelling media as means of
problem solving

Bryan Lawson & Kees Dorst (2009)

 Most cited definition of design

"Everyone designs who devises

courses of action aimed at
changing existing situations
into preferred ones."

Herbert Simon (1969)

 A very basal model of design

initial future
process
state state

current situation transformation function desired situation

Doblin (1987)
John Chris Jones
Design Methods: Seeds of human future
(1970)
Get ready for...
the ultimate definition of design
John Chris Jones
Design Methods: Seeds of human future
(1970)
 PRELUDE
Design = Change

CHANGE
IS
DIFFERENCE

CHANGE OF DIFFERENCE
IS
PROCESS

CHANGE OF PROCESS
IS
EVOLUTION

CHANGE OF EVOLUTION
IS
DESIGN

Fig. I-5 Hierarchy of Change

Harold Nelson & Erik Stolterman (2002/2012)

llenge to cultures, or societies, on how to deal with change at these multipl

 However...
there is even a final ultimate definition !
 Design is to initiate change in man-made things

...but now, more than thirty years

later, and in a changed world, I am
no longer happy with man-made nor
with things...

John Christopher Jones (2002)

http://www.softopia.demon.co.uk/2.2/digital_diary_02.07.14.html
 i n ki n g) a cti n
(t h
ti ve g, d o i
cogni ng

De s ig ne r
thoughts and actions
intended to change
U s e r thoughts and actions

Awesome... or not?

John Christopher Jones (2002)

http://www.softopia.demon.co.uk/2.2/digital_diary_02.07.14.html
thoughts and actions
intended to change
thoughts and actions

John Christopher Jones (2002)

http://www.softopia.demon.co.uk/2.2/digital_diary_02.07.14.html
 ige st : D e fin it io ns of Design
AD ebruary 6, 201
4
Design is th
the active bu
e core of pu
rposeful and
ilding or rela creative actio
By Bas Leurs F es made visible world tions betwee n of Design is th
Design is valu n man and
his e ability to
broad brush in 11)
aite (20 Jantsc exist, to ma imagine that
by using a very Chick & Micklethw -which-does-n
h (1975) ke it appear
Design is initiated en details are gra
dually
d innovation. In It purposeful ad in concrete
form as a ne
ot-yet-
sketching the firs
t ve rsi on . Th links creativity an mo
e st peoples vocabularie
dition to the w,
nues un til a sufficiently Design is what pra ctic al and attractiv It s interior de s, design me
Nelson & Sto
lterman (20
re al wo rld.
cess co nti beco me
added. The pro carry it ide as to
Desig andbe y corating. It ans veneer. 02)
t enables us to sha pe s
rs or customers.
n ma s the fabric Design is a
is obtained tha use sofa. But to of the curta profession th
detailed design propo siti on s for
plo ye d to a specificmeaning en d. me , no thing could
be
ins creation of at is concer
ned with the
ativity de of design. De further from products, sy
out described as cre a man-made sign is the fu
nd amental soul
the
services that stems, comm
unications an
creation that of satisfy huma d
Ackoff, 1981 Cox (2005) wiethou ends up expr n needs, im
iples, technical ty reduc sutio
ccn" essiv es lives and do prove peop
rie
of scientific princ ss of "va te r la ye sin g its el all of this wi les
Design is the use as a proce rs of the prod f in th respect fo
definition of a Design is seen uced the natural
Jobs (n.
n in the tial solutions red d.) uct or service environment r the welfare
information, an
d imaginatio number of poten . . of
with maximum the very large ownnis Ow en (2004)
ns the de sig ne r's
De sig
rm specific functio raints and by to initiate ch
system to perfo by external const Jones (1970
)
ange in man-m
ade things Th e imaginative
cie nc y. es. jump from pr
economy and effi cognitive structur thoughts an future possib
ilies
esent facts to
d actions
Archer (1966) mo del of the Dar ke (19 84)
intended to
Page (1966
)
ipt ion or
ning is the prescr
change
The act of desig t of love.
bodiment. Design is an ac thoughts an
d actions
Design is int
egral to all
ish ed wo rk in advance of its em 11) Jones (2002 Papenek (19 life and huma
fin Des me t (20
an ge , it is ch ange.
) 72) n activity
84) n an ag en t of ch
Arc her (19
rta int y, wi th high De sig n is mo re tha Designers ar Design is a
co
unce e people wh nscious and
g in the face of ft (2012) of better futu o are paid to meaningful intuitive ef fo
Decision makin Doorley & Wittho
hskaine way as to res and make produce vis
ions order.... De rt to impose
ltie s for err or. an gin g ele me nts in sucKo n, those things ma tri x of or
sign is both
the underly
pena ... a plan for arr
Zim me rman, Binde ha ppen. der and the
to ing
rpose.De r, Re ol that crea
a particular pu
dstrom & We Papenek (19
Asimow (1962) signers typi nsveen (2011 83) tes it.
sig n is dir ected towards
the best accomplish cally produc
e
)
tivity , de solutions, to no vel unexpecte Design is th
A pruposeful ac Eames (1989) lerate uncerta d e method of
human needs information, inty, work wi together. De putting form
goals of fulfilling De sig n is a mo de of action. apply imag
ina tion and co
th incomplet
e there is no sin
sign, just as
ar t, has multip
and content
forethought ns le definitions
Asimow (19 62)
sys tem to practical tructive gle definitio ;
of a de sired Eam es (n.d .)
ans otarr gede the pr oblems and can be aesth n. Design can
n aim s to co nceive the idea ma p ou t, to pla n, or to hean r mo llin g me di a as means
use drawing
s etics. Desig
n is so simple,
be ar t. Desig
n
Desig of it De sig n me an s to so lvi ng
jec ' tiv es of so co m pl ica th
description the ob problem ted. at s why it is
and prepare a int o a wh ole which satisfies Lawson & Do Rand (2001
parts rst (2009) )
Banathy (1979)
organizes the involved. Design is th A creative ac
is cre ati ng a structure that ald (1987) e translation tiviy, design
Designin g FitzGerald & Fitz Ger requiremeentactivity of of information in new and us
eful that ha
brings into be
ing something
sys tem . l co gn itiv e tas k. Th s, constraints, the form of s not existed
logic in the n is a qu int ess entia potential soure states and experie
nc e into
Reswick (19 previously
Desig mu lat ion of fut lutions which 65 )
Beck (2000) the mental for designer to external are consider
solutions to and design involves of designchac tivity aremeet required perfo ed by the The designe
r intends to
es and defines fore, or s. The products aracteristics. rmance change a se
Design establish ble ms no t so lve d be of aff air
ssi fut ure
bleLuckman (1984 s. universe. Hi
s motivation gment of th
e
tur es for pro en s of suc h po is conseque
pertinent struc wh ich ha ve pre vio usl y be rep res en tat ion ) understandi
ng or explanat ntial action,
not
pro ble ms io
new solutions to Goel & Pirolli (19
92) . The entire ac purpose he n... He desig
ce a de itynfrom the
tivsig ha s in his mind ns whatever
lve d in a dif fer ent way. sig n a de sig n tone pro ed duto ch stage of real accomplish devises a sc
he
so an iza this Purpose.
Design is to de system into
ge to transla
ting the imag
tion of a
Rittel (1973
ma to
Blumrich (1970) reality is teto e of the futu )
at we wa nt to make before we Heskett (2005) Mathur (19
tio n of res ou rces rmed design. re
wh iza Ev
rposeful organ er yone desig
78
Design simulates l )
necessary to fee Design is the pu ns who devis
times as may be Design is th at changing es courses of
make it, as many ac co mp lish a goal. e solution to
th e
existing situa
tions into pr
action aime
d
nt in the fin al result (20 04) particular se
t of circumsta
sum of the ne
eds of a
Sim on (1969) eferred ones
confide Hevner, March,
Park & Ram
Matchett (19 nerally nc es .
g ge De sign is a cont
activity designin
Booker (19 64) 68 )
d re-
nceive, plan an Thus, labeling an n and a group
iunuum of pr
man power to co existence of a use
No longer plaas moving chai ocesses, an
Design is the hu tha t ser ve hu ma n beings in pre sup po ses the de sign is incre
sociated with
ob jects and ap ev aluation, di
n of developm
ent, realiza
endless but
the pro du cts e pe re tion, and
alize all of ivi du al or co llectiv
of pro sp ec tiv e use rs. as ingly underst arances, cted toward
pu
ment of their ind sense as the ood in a mu rposeful crea
Va n der Ryn (19
the accomplish human capa ch wider 66) tion
Houkes (2008) desired outco city to plan
an intme ens.tional, and produc Design cons
purposes. r is an yo ne en ga gin g
Mau (2007) in e ist s pr im arily of six ty
A de sig ne a int el pes of activ
Buchanan (2006) entor, ity with the aim of devising ligence, anal
ysis, synthe ity:
sis of ar tist, inv purposeful activ A designerar tefact. communicatio sis, choice,
emerging synthe duct or is a planner with n, and inter
A designer is an and ev olu tio na ry
description (pl an ) for a pro
Mu an aesthetic se im plementatio pr et at ion. The
tive economist
na ri (1966)
nse n of design
mechanic, objec Hybs & Gero (20
06)
Design is th failure of an its concrete
phase. The
gis t. wh os e e
aiminv is
es to establish
tig
y one of the
six
strate tivity ation of cont usually assu fundamenta
Ful ler (n.d.) De sig n is a creative ac present sy jecste ms
ts, pro to ce sse s, emplated an
d
re failure to
im
l types will
ins ter of ob formulate, th pl ement
Buckm sysste
Wa
aceted qualitie
rfield (1990
tho ug ht pro ce ss and the mu lti-f ms concep lifet, cy cle s. rough the id
ea
)
rily a action s in whole the most ef fe l
Design is prima rring ideas into ser vices and the
ir system Nadle r (1981)
innovative ctive systems
Design is a
new way of
process, tranfe central factor of
communication tur al fun ctio n, expressed
Th ere for e, de sig n is the De sig cru cia l fac tor of conflicts, critic
al for securin
resolving ba
sic human
un ica tio n. It is a na hnnumbolo gie n s ge
an ned the
ra te s, or ganizes, an de g safe passag
by comm enga ge in. Fo r the
huma nis ati on of tec eranof d evaluates a
sirable huma
n future e to a
ac tiv itie s we pt to ic ex ch ge al
. te rn at ive la rge
in the many s the conscious attem cu ltu ral and econom possible or most id
s; keeping fo
cused on th
We isbord (1992
)
n me an e
teleologist, desig antiteleologist de
sign is
ICSID (n.d.) collecting an eal solution,
rather than
best Design is ab
world. For the d analyzing on out making
create a better tio n.
Nadler & Hib
ino
data about
he prob
uncertainty. decisions, of
ten in the fa
iou s pa rt of ac (19 90 ) le m. ce of
the co nsc Zin ter (2012)
71)
Churchman (19

Zie N@tschool!
 satisfy

innovative aims people

purposeful

improve
plans human
intentions
users

imaginative

uncertainty
present

existing situation
future
problem
prefered situation
solution
new
creating
problem solving Changing an existing situation into a
preferred situation, requires imagination
changing to formulate a plan that deals with
uncertainty that the future holds.
decision making
 As you might have noticed... design is quite an ambiguous notion

One of the difficulties in understanding

design, is its multifaceted nature. There
is no single way of looking at design
that captures the 'essence' without
missing some other salient aspect.

Bryan Lawson & Kees Dorst (2009), also see Buchanan (1992, 2001, p. 27)
Design as...
A mixture of creativity and analyses
Problem solving
Evolution
The creation of solutions to problems
Integrating into a coherent whole
A fundamental human activity
Etc...

Bryan Lawson & Kees Dorst (2009)

 lets try to grasp the very
essence of design... actually the
problem designers are facing in
their everyday practice
design
=
easy
Yes, or no?
Design is the performing
of a very complicated act
of faith

John Christopher Jones (1966/1970)

 But, what makes
design such a
complicated activity?
Write down one word!
What makes design
so complicated
according to Jones?
In Design Methods (1970)

The fundamental problem is

that designers are obliged to
use current information to
predict a future state that will
not come about unless their
predictions are correct.

The designer must be able to

predict the ultimate effects of
their proposed design as well
as specifying the actions that
are needed to bring these
effects about.

47
 Design is not (only) about the product. Actually it is about the effects you want to achieve

customer client designer plan prod uctio n product effect(s)

business sketch/prototype man ufac turin g

Business
Competitive advantage

Users
Pleasurable experience

Ecology/society
Ecological footprint/
wellfare
 However, effects are not easy to predict...

short term mid term long term

effects effects effects

See Jones (1970)

We cannot know what the unintended consequences of

a design will be, and we cannot know, ahead of time,
the full, systemic effects of a design implementation.
Nelson & Stolterman (2002)
 Designers are optimists

If we can design our way into

difficulty, we can design our way out.

John Thackara (2005)

Designers
Everyone is
a designer!
True, or false
Het Beste Idee van Nederland
 Design ability is possessed by everyone
Nigel Cross (1990)

"Everyone can and does design. We all design

when we plan for something new to happen, whether
that might be a new version of a recipe, a new
arrangement of the living room furniture, or a new lay
tour of a personal web page. [] So design thinking is
something inherent within human cognition; it is a key
part of what makes us human. (p. 3)
I KE
A!!!

Nigel Cross (2011)

IKEA Hackers

http://www.ikeahackers.net/
Innovative use of the BJURSTA dining table
to hold two toddlers. And the best thing is,
when adults need to eat, the holes can be
covered.
http://www.ikeahackers.net/2011/01/best-hack-of-2010-your-vote-needed.html
 "Everyone designs who
devises courses of action
aimed at changing existing
situations into preferred
ones."

Herbert Simon (1969)

What is the difference
between an amateur
designer and a
professional designer?
 Laten we eens kijken naar de
ontwerpen van Ed Baars. Ed is een
ontwerper/uitvinder en ontwikkelt
hulpmiddel apparaten...
Smeer en snij spaan voor de pindakaas of de chocoladepasta voor de sneetje brood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBP1nOXul1c
http://www.youtube.com/user/idea28ed/videos
Accuboor aardappel schilmachine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeFqauOU1xk
 Mijn favorieten

a a n do u w h age ls lag sp a a n la n k s n el en v e il ig
b ro o dje s s n ij p

b ro od trommel met kl ok k eu ke n ki tche n ac cu bo or dr ill m

ixer eten fo od m ak e
 Why do we design?

We must design, because we are not perfect.

Like Hephaistos, we have to design because we want to survive, but

humans also seem to have a will for continuous improvement and
development.

On a more abstract level, we are drawn to design because we may

feel a lack of wholenesswe do not find the world in a condition that
is satisfying or fulfilling for us. And, ultimately, we are motivated to
design because it is an accessible means to enlightenment, to bring
order, and to give meaning to our lives.

Harold Nelson & Erik Stolterman (2002/2012)

 "Designers are change
agents in society. Their goal
is to improve the human
condition, in all its aspects,
through physical change."

John Gero (1990)

Position of design
design
=
art
True, or false
science arts

design

engineering useful art???

Bruce Archer (1979)

 inward
focus
Art Science

outward
focus
Design Engineering

move minds move molecules

Rich Gold (2007) / John Seely Brown (2009?)

Value drive
n Value free
(biased) (unbiased)

Charles Owen (1991)

Design, as a unique way of thinking and acting,
does not have a long, well-developed scholarly
history. Other intellectual traditions, such as
science and art, have enjoyed thousands of
years of considered thought... De s ig n Met h o
do lo g y
M o ve m e nt st
a r te d in 196
0s .

Sin ce He nr y Fo rd int roduc ed

th e M odel T (1908), de sig ne rs
he lpe d ma nu fa ctu rers to
produc e mo re products for
les s.

Harold Nelson & Erik Stolterman (2002)

 intangible: can
be perceived by

Symbolic

experiences
Functional Expressive
practical / useful attractive / emotive

objects

Physical
tangible: can be
perceived by
the senses
 intangible: can
be perceived by

Symbolic

experiences
CMD
Design Art
Functional Expressive
practical / useful attractive / emotive

objects
Engineering

Physical
tangible: can be
perceived by
the senses
Art makes statements.
Designs work.

Donald Norman (n.d.)

 Science vs Design

The natural sciences Design is concerned with how

are concerned with things ought to be, with devising
how things are. artifices to attain goals.

Herbert Simon (1969)

 To conclude...

Art Science

Creating culture Creating knowledge

Design Engineering

Creating
???meaning Creating solutions
Salut!
Next lecture:
Design processes
Problem solving

Please return
the cards!