WEEK 3: Design Thinking and Process (Part 2)
LECTURE
Myra Thiessen (2017) Design Thinking and Process: Part 2
The lecture expands further on the ideas surrounding design thinking and the process of creativity, which underpin the definition of what designers do. Once again, this contradicts the notion that ideas, designs and innovation includes the eureka moment or creative leap, a "flash of insight". We can see clearly that the creative process of design thinking rather includes much more work, accumulation of experience and knowledge that enables flow and generation of usable ideas, feedback and decisions around design solutions.
Dvorak (2016) John Berger or The Art of Looking
The late John Berger, one of the lesser-known celebrity deaths of early 2017, was a Booker Prize-winning writer, painter, poet and arts critic. His work, Ways of Seeing which accompanied a BBC TV series is often referred to in the academic study of design. Cordelia Dvorak's recent documentary film John Berger or the Art of Looking (2016) takes a look back on his life and works, with a focus on his
READING
Kimbell (2011)
Rethinking Design Thinking: Part I, Design and Culture
Myra Thiessen (2017) Design Thinking and Process: Part 2
The lecture expands further on the ideas surrounding design thinking and the process of creativity, which underpin the definition of what designers do. Once again, this contradicts the notion that ideas, designs and innovation includes the eureka moment or creative leap, a "flash of insight". We can see clearly that the creative process of design thinking rather includes much more work, accumulation of experience and knowledge that enables flow and generation of usable ideas, feedback and decisions around design solutions.
Dvorak (2016) John Berger or The Art of Looking
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| John Berger. www.versobooks.com |
The late John Berger, one of the lesser-known celebrity deaths of early 2017, was a Booker Prize-winning writer, painter, poet and arts critic. His work, Ways of Seeing which accompanied a BBC TV series is often referred to in the academic study of design. Cordelia Dvorak's recent documentary film John Berger or the Art of Looking (2016) takes a look back on his life and works, with a focus on his
READING
Kimbell (2011)
Rethinking Design Thinking: Part I, Design and Culture
Lucy Kimbell's paper also discusses design thinking, but in a more abstract and problematic way. As she attempts to describe the process of defining and examining the cognitive aspects of the design process, and notes the importance of divergent relative to convergent thinking, there is the recurring theme that definitions are difficult, that there is "trouble articulating what it is, whether all designers can do it, whether it is something new or just a different name for what good designers have always done, and why it might be a good thing that non-designers can learn it and do it too – or perhaps they do it already" (Kimbell, 2011).
Do designers dynamically debate and discuss definitions of design?
This appears to be a common theme in some of the design literature, and one which to me suggests the possibility of over-analytical thinking about how design thinking is done. Kimbell's TED talk, Extreme Refurb (2012) for example, offers far more practical, useful and "designerly" insights on how sustainability and recycled materials can be used in a domestic refurbishment, while also considering dynamic design approaches (i.e. the designers were living in the house while designing it, reacting to both practical realities and material constraints). The paper even notes the work of Bauer & Eagan (2008), who suggest that design thinking may actually be an alternative to the over analytical approaches of management.
It seems problematic to assume that design practice and academia are so closely in communication, or even that designers and design scholars are speaking the same language.
REFERENCES
Do designers dynamically debate and discuss definitions of design?
This appears to be a common theme in some of the design literature, and one which to me suggests the possibility of over-analytical thinking about how design thinking is done. Kimbell's TED talk, Extreme Refurb (2012) for example, offers far more practical, useful and "designerly" insights on how sustainability and recycled materials can be used in a domestic refurbishment, while also considering dynamic design approaches (i.e. the designers were living in the house while designing it, reacting to both practical realities and material constraints). The paper even notes the work of Bauer & Eagan (2008), who suggest that design thinking may actually be an alternative to the over analytical approaches of management.
It seems problematic to assume that design practice and academia are so closely in communication, or even that designers and design scholars are speaking the same language.
REFERENCES
- Ambrose, G. & Harris, P. (2010). Design thinking. London: AVA Publishing SA.
- Bauer, R. & Eagan, W. (2008). “Design Thinking: Epistemic Plurality in Management and Organization.” Aesthesis, 2(3): 64–74.
- Berger, John. Ways of seeing. Vol. 474. Penguin UK, 2008.
- Berger, John. About looking. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015.
- Bierut, M. (1994). Why designers can’t think. In M. Bierut (Ed.), Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design (pp. 215–217). New York: Allworth Press.
- Buchanan, R. (1992). Wicked problems in design thinking. Design issues, 8(2), 5-21.
- Cross, N. (1990). The nature and nurture of design ability. Design Studies, 11(3), 127-140.
- Cross, N. (2004). Expertise in design: an overview. Design Studies, 25(5), 427-441.
- Cross, N. (2011). Design thinking: understanding how designers think and work. New York: Berg.
- Dorst, K., & Cross, N. (2001). Creativity in the design process: co-evolution of problem–solution. Design Studies, 22(5), 425-437.
- Dvorak, C. (2016) John Berger or The Art of Looking. BBC Films. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IeBcecwcQw
- Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple intelligences: New horizons in theory and practice. Basic Books.
- Kimbell, L. (2011) Rethinking Design Thinking: Part I, Design and Culture, 3:3, 285-306.
- Kimbell, L. (2012) Extreme Refurb. TED Oxbridge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKwY39XlPa8
- Norman, D. (2002). The design of everyday things (Updated ed.). New York: Basic Books.
- Nussbaum, B. 2011. “Design Thinking is a Failed Experiment: So What’s Next?” Fast Company blog. Available online: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663558/beyond-design-thinking
Hi all, Stuart you have some really great insights here and fantastic critical analysis around the over-analysis of what design really is. I am concerned that your other team members are not pulling their weight in regards to posts - make sure that Ben and George are adding information too!
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