Marisse started off by asking 'What is Design?.
The answer she gave lay in a quote,
'We are all designers. All that we do, almost all of the time is design, for design is basic to all human activity’.
Victor Papanek. ( 'Designs for the Real World', 1971.)
He also said Design
"is the concious effort to introduce meaningful order"
Design can be anything - in the wider sense, the choices we make, the steps we take, all boil down to us 'designing' aspects of our lives - from something as mundane as selecting ingredients for a meal, through to the homes and life styles we create for ourselves. As art and design students, in particular, the list of what makes us 'designers' is endless - for example, selecting a colour, creating a character, or composing a photograph.
Based on Papanek's views, the most important thing about design is how it relates to people . If something isn't 'well designed' then its ability to 'relate' is reduced.
In order to create something that is 'well designed', Papanek said the ethological and ethical practises must be examined and implemented, and to this end he came up with a set of values that he called The Function Complex. This is a user centred approach to design, that called for a re-thinking in how design is approached.
This consists of
METHOD.
The 'honest' use of materials - the utilisation of the materials must be such that the best solution is achieved.
If there is no point to introducing or using a material that is unecessary to the design, then don't do it .
USE
A design has to work - it has to fulfil its purpose, for example, an advert should persuade, a book should be understood by those it is aimed at.
There is no use giving a design features that are not needed in order for it to fulfil its purpose, simply for the sake of doing so.
NEED
The needs of the people should not be neglected by the designer. "Much recent design has only satisfied evanescent wants and desires, whilst the genuine needs of man have often been neglected by the designer" Papenek.
Is the design catering to the actual needs of society - or to the needs that have been 'created' by fashion?
TELESIS
"The deliberate , purposeful utilisation of the process of nature and society to obtain particular goals"
The design must reflect the society that has created the need for it, and also fit into the economic society.
ASSOCIATION
Our Psychological conditioning, often going back to early childhood, predisposes us to or against certain values.
Designers need to be aware that society has certain values/expectations for how a 'design' should work, look or perform, and recognise and work with this conditioning.
AESTETICS
The beauty/attraction of the design.
The overall look of the design needs to be in keeping with what is being designed.
As well as the Function complex, in his book The Green Imperative , Papanek also states the designers need to consider the ecological impact of their designs. The following all must be considered in order to reduce waste and pollution.
1. The choice of material.
2. The Manufacturing Process.
3.The Packaging of a product.
4.The finished product.
5. Transportation.
6. Waste.
Marisse chose to summarised Papaneks work into the -
'THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF DESIGN'
So, you have Papaneks ideology setting out a basis for a new approach to design that is intended to improve every aspect of what design is, what it does, how it functions and how it can best be used.The Cox Review, a Government backed report, explored the importance of using the country's creative capabilities to enhance business productivity.
"Design is what links creativity and innovation. It shapes ideas to become practical and attractive propositions for users or customers. Design may be described as creativity deployed to a specific end”.
Sir George Cox
Marisse then moved on to discussing Design Philosophy and 'Design Thinking Mindset'
1.Design is about being human-centred.
2. Really great designers care about the people they are designing for.
3. Another attribute of design is that it is collaborative.
The development of this thinking would seem to encompass Papanek's earlier work, and add in the the need for, and the desirability of, developing the ability to collaborate with other disciplines, in order to approach and create design that optimises how it relates to people.
The role of the designer is also examined within this context. Is the role of a designer to create 'impact' - and what is 'impact'?
Impact can do many things -
. make a difference
. help others
. stir emotion
. persuade
. preserve the environment
. be something that is remembered
So, how does a designer aim to develop so that he or she is able to relate to people, consider the ecological and ethical values of what he or she does, collaborate and create impact?
T Shaped Designers.
This was devised by management consultants, and developed by IDEO. Its the model of how an individual/team/company's skill and knowledge can be adapted to a design solution.
Basically, a T shaped designer has 2 strengths.
Firstly, it is the depth of knowledge he or she has in their own specialist subject - that's the long stroke - the depth - of the 'T'.
Secondly, it is their ability to apply their knowledge to work in different contexts, how well they can collaborate and apply their knowledge in other area's - that is the 'cross stroke' - the breadth - of the 'T'
And at the base of the 'T', at the 'roots', are perhaps the values devised by Papanek.
The use of the term 'Design Thinking' became a catalyst for IDEO , developed and evolved by David Kelly (Sandford Professor) and Tim Brown (Design consultant). It enforces the idea that design is more a frame of mind than a design process, and its a model that is now used world wide.
"Design thinking relies on our ability to be intuitive, to recognize patterns, to construct ideas that have emotional resonance as well as functionality, to express ourselves in media other than words or symbols."
Tim Brown, 'Change by Design'
So its not just about the process of design - its about its wider impact. For e.g. To take into account the 'green' impact, the impact on the needs of, and relationship with, people. So, closer look at design process is needed, in order to encompass the wider impact.
DESIGN PROCESS
An investigation by The British Design Council in 2009, explored broader knowledge and understanding of the Design process
The following information was obtained from This Site
The 'double diamond' design process model
"The double diamond diagram was developed through in-house research at the Design Council in 2005 as a simple graphical way of describing the design process
Divided into four distinct phases, Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver, it maps the divergent and convergent stages of the design process, showing the different modes of thinking that designers use.DiscoverThe first quarter of the double diamond model marks the start of the project. This begins with an initial idea or inspiration, often sourced from a discovery phase in which user needs are identified. These include:
DefineThe second quarter of the double diamond model represents the definition stage, in which interpretation and alignment of these needs to business objectives is achieved. Key activities during the Define stage are:
DevelopThe third quarter marks a period of development where design-led solutions are developed, iterated and tested within the company. Key activities and objectives during the Develop stage are:
DeliverThe final quarter of the double diamond model represents the delivery stage, where the resulting product or service is finalised and launched in the relevant market. The key activities and objectives during this stage are:
It was also determined that there are certain constraints that need to be accepted in the design process
1. Feasibility - what is functionally possible?
2. Viability - is it a sustainable business model
3. Desirability - what makes sense to, and for, the people?
So, design thinking calls for a new approach to the design process, and the methodolgy of it can be used to become a 'T-shaped' designer, and therefore better able to deliver design solutions that are user centred, use collaboration to improve and advance the design, consider the functional, viable and financial implications and outcomes, and are morally, ethically and ecologically responsible. Using this approach involves more than just 'creative design' skills in your own particular subject - it calls for communication skills, to allow you to communicate with the client, and to collaborate with other disciplines.
I found this lecture incredibly complex - its taken me several hours to read up further on several of the area's it covered, and to try and condense the vast amount of information it contained into something that - I hope - makes sense. I understand, and mostly agree with the values outlined by Papanek, and I can see how adopting and utilising the design thinking outlined can enhance and improve the whole design process, and create better designers and better, more applicable design solutions.
If I have one 'doubt' its relating to my own work experiences, especially in a time of economic problems. Admittedly, I haven't yet worked in a design environment, but on the basis that every body 'designs' as they go about every day life and business, I wonder if the impact isn't the same?. The long term benefits of adopting the user centred approach, and the mindset, thinking and processes are obvious, as are the benefits on a wider scale, of the ethological, moral and ethical approaches. However, to implement this way of working surely calls for businesses/companies to invest, both in terms of the time needed for a design to be developed, or a 'design solution' to be found, and in terms of financial input? In my experience, it became a case of cutting costs, and the ability/opportunity to implement this sort of work model wouldn't even have been considered. Its an 'Ideal World' scenario - much as it makes sense, much as it would achieve the best results, in reality, how likely is it that the majority of companies would have the finacial ability to embrace this form of design thinking?
This lecture is one that I really enjoyed writing about, afterwards. Although it was a lot to take in, at the point of delivery, the fact that it made me go and find out more, that I had to 'work' to to understand and present it clearly, and the fact that it did make me look at and consider my obligations to be a responsible designer, made it really interesting.
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