Week 1 What is a designer?
This week starts off with the discussion of what a designer is and what designers do.
Notes from reading:
The nature and nurture of design ability
Keywords: design ability, design intuition, abductive reasoning, design for business
According to Cross, 'Design Ability' is "comprising resolving ill-defined problems, adopting solution-focussed cognitive strategies, employing abductive or appositional thinking and using non-verbal modelling media." [1]
This means design ability is the skill to use research to solve a problem with well-designed solutions that exceed verbal communication, and may rely on visual media. good design actually resolves conflicts without compromise.
Design plays an important role in contributing to business performance and economic growth. Good design doesn’t equals to good business, but it does indicate that successful firms treat design as an important element of business strategy. The Design Innovation Group conducted a survey which showed that business firms that paid more attention to design (Every details such as function, size, appearance, materials and ergonomics) performed better.[2] The solution to a problem is not straightforward, thus requires sketches and drawings. Designers use their intuition and imagination to make up for the lack of information from the proposed problem. The end-product is usually unexpected, but consequently original.[3]
The scope of the solution emerges early in the design process, speculating or conceptualising possible solutions. Find out the final solution by further understanding the problem. This process can be considered inherently self-correcting, as future work tends to clarify and correct their earlier work.[4]
Schon commented that through sketches,
Linguistic
Logical-mathematical
Spatial
Musical
Bodily-kinaesthetic
Personal
Geometric reasoning, three dimensional problem solving and visuo-spatial thinking are indeed located in specific brain-centres. It helps to identify and clarify the essential characteristics of design ability, and provides a framework for understanding and developing the development of design ability.[6]
Everyone has a certain amount of design ability, but designers have more developed abilities through education, and practice. Through education, they can develop the way of thinking as a designer, learn theories and principles, and technical skills. Design education is effective through using texts, tv, videos and audios, and computers. They also have different strengths in developing knowledge, skills, and values in design students.[7]
Computers help students to develop design abilities. They also make it more convenient for students to generate 2D and 3D models than drawing by hand.[8]
Lecture and tutorial
We have an understanding that designers:
Notes from reading:
The nature and nurture of design ability
Keywords: design ability, design intuition, abductive reasoning, design for business
According to Cross, 'Design Ability' is "comprising resolving ill-defined problems, adopting solution-focussed cognitive strategies, employing abductive or appositional thinking and using non-verbal modelling media." [1]
This means design ability is the skill to use research to solve a problem with well-designed solutions that exceed verbal communication, and may rely on visual media. good design actually resolves conflicts without compromise.
The scope of the solution emerges early in the design process, speculating or conceptualising possible solutions. Find out the final solution by further understanding the problem. This process can be considered inherently self-correcting, as future work tends to clarify and correct their earlier work.[4]
Schon commented that through sketches,
It seems possible to make a reasonable claim that design ability is a form of natural intelligence. psychologist Howard Gardner distinguishes six forms of intelligence:'[The designer] shapes the situation, in accordance with his initial appreciation of it; the situation talks back, and he responds to the back-talk.’ [5]
Linguistic
Logical-mathematical
Spatial
Musical
Bodily-kinaesthetic
Personal
Everyone has a certain amount of design ability, but designers have more developed abilities through education, and practice. Through education, they can develop the way of thinking as a designer, learn theories and principles, and technical skills. Design education is effective through using texts, tv, videos and audios, and computers. They also have different strengths in developing knowledge, skills, and values in design students.[7]
Computers help students to develop design abilities. They also make it more convenient for students to generate 2D and 3D models than drawing by hand.[8]
Lecture and tutorial
We have an understanding that designers:
Communicate,
Translate and interpret,
Think and plan,
Tell stories,
and most importantly, solve problems.
Designers do these purposefully, they research and generate possible ideas, refine, and come up with the final design to solve a problem. They can also convey meanings through designed products; if conveyed effectively, the designer may successfully persuade others to take a desired course of action. Designers aim to cause a desired effect through their designs. Unfortunately, this effect is not always be positive.
Examples:
Armin Zahirovic posted an article on the Interaction Design Foundation website named 'Design Failures', which includes many examples of poorly designed items:
Poor designs can be humorous, and ironically more memorable. However, a bad design can decrease quality of life, and potentially poses danger.
Design is a process e.g. when someone designs a city, they have to consider how the people in that city interact, therefore they’re designing a system. This is complex, so designers also collaborate with others. [9]
Robert Lang: former engineer who eventually quit his engineering career to pursue his passion in creating innovative origami designs, leads to the question: Is Lang considered a designer?
Arguably, yes. in order to come up with beautiful origami pieces, he has to generate ideas of how his end products would look. He needs to research, use science and mathematics to generate unique models before coming to the final product. His origami might not solve problems, but they can inspire, and challenge others to come up with more innovative origami (cause an effect). Going back to the lecture, a designer thinks, plans, and tell stories. Each of Lang's origami would have an underlying process-of-making story.
Another question is 'Is an artist a designer?'
In some cases, an artist can be a designer.
Tattoo artists should be considered both artists and designers. They design tattoos, but they produce beautiful, elaborative artworks. The piece of design is also an artwork from its origin on paper or the computer to when it is inked onto someone's body. Such artwork is a design because often, tattoos carry personal meanings/ tell stories. The tattoo artists have to listen to their clients' requests, and visualise their stories and ideas into a beautiful tattoo.
Example:
Sarah B, Colchester wrote an article in The Guardian about mastectomy tattoos.
These tattoos have a purpose. They helped post-mastectomy women feel less insecure about their scars, and make these women feel confident and beautiful again. They caused an effect by helping these women to regain their self-esteem. [12]
From the examples, we can see that a designer is defined not only as someone who can create a beautiful thing but also a person who can bring the message to the audiences through their products. Each product is created so that it has a particular meaning. The designer's aim is to meet the client's demand and make products that are indicative to their values.
Writer: Megatron
_____________________________________________
[1] Cross, "The nature," 127.
[2] Ibid., 128.
[3] Ibid., 130.
[4] Ibid., 131.
[5] Ibid., 132.
[6] Ibid., 134.
[7] Ibid., 137.
[8] Ibid., 139.
[9] Armin Zahirovic, "Design failures," Interaction Design Foundation, accessed 1 April, 2020,
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/design-failures.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Robert J. Lang and Kevin Box, "ONE IN A BILLION (SILVER)," Robert J. Lang ORIGAMI, accessed 1 April, 2020,
https://langorigami.com/artwork/one-in-a-billion-silver/.
[12] "‘Instead of a scar, I had a piece of art’: women on their post-mastectomy tattoos," The impossible body, The Guardian, published Sep 22, 2018,
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/sep/22/instead-scar-piece-art-women-mastectomy-tattoos.
Bibliography:
Cross, Nigel. “The nature and nurture of design ability.” Design Studies 11, issue 3 (July 1990): 127-140. https://doi.org/10.1016/0142-694X(90)90002-T.
Lang, J. Robert, Box, Kevin. "ONE IN A BILLION (SILVER)." Robert J. Lang ORIGAMI. Accessed 1 April, 2020.
https://langorigami.com/artwork/one-in-a-billion-silver/.
The Guardian. "‘Instead of a scar, I had a piece of art’: women on their post-mastectomy tattoos." The impossible body. Published Sep 22, 2018.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/sep/22/instead-scar-piece-art-women-mastectomy-tattoos.
Zahirovic, Armin. "Design failures." Interaction Design Foundation. Accessed 1 April, 2020.
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/design-failures
Translate and interpret,
Think and plan,
Tell stories,
and most importantly, solve problems.
Designers do these purposefully, they research and generate possible ideas, refine, and come up with the final design to solve a problem. They can also convey meanings through designed products; if conveyed effectively, the designer may successfully persuade others to take a desired course of action. Designers aim to cause a desired effect through their designs. Unfortunately, this effect is not always be positive.
Examples:
Armin Zahirovic posted an article on the Interaction Design Foundation website named 'Design Failures', which includes many examples of poorly designed items:
Poor designs can be humorous, and ironically more memorable. However, a bad design can decrease quality of life, and potentially poses danger.
Design is a process e.g. when someone designs a city, they have to consider how the people in that city interact, therefore they’re designing a system. This is complex, so designers also collaborate with others. [9]
 |
| An example of a poorly designed item. [10] |
Robert Lang: former engineer who eventually quit his engineering career to pursue his passion in creating innovative origami designs, leads to the question: Is Lang considered a designer?
Arguably, yes. in order to come up with beautiful origami pieces, he has to generate ideas of how his end products would look. He needs to research, use science and mathematics to generate unique models before coming to the final product. His origami might not solve problems, but they can inspire, and challenge others to come up with more innovative origami (cause an effect). Going back to the lecture, a designer thinks, plans, and tell stories. Each of Lang's origami would have an underlying process-of-making story.
 |
| An example of Lang's beautiful artwork. It definitely tells the story of his hard work behind this artwork. [11] |
Another question is 'Is an artist a designer?'
In some cases, an artist can be a designer.
Tattoo artists should be considered both artists and designers. They design tattoos, but they produce beautiful, elaborative artworks. The piece of design is also an artwork from its origin on paper or the computer to when it is inked onto someone's body. Such artwork is a design because often, tattoos carry personal meanings/ tell stories. The tattoo artists have to listen to their clients' requests, and visualise their stories and ideas into a beautiful tattoo.
Example:
Sarah B, Colchester wrote an article in The Guardian about mastectomy tattoos.
These tattoos have a purpose. They helped post-mastectomy women feel less insecure about their scars, and make these women feel confident and beautiful again. They caused an effect by helping these women to regain their self-esteem. [12]
From the examples, we can see that a designer is defined not only as someone who can create a beautiful thing but also a person who can bring the message to the audiences through their products. Each product is created so that it has a particular meaning. The designer's aim is to meet the client's demand and make products that are indicative to their values.
Writer: Megatron
_____________________________________________
[1] Cross, "The nature," 127.
[2] Ibid., 128.
[3] Ibid., 130.
[4] Ibid., 131.
[5] Ibid., 132.
[6] Ibid., 134.
[7] Ibid., 137.
[8] Ibid., 139.
[9] Armin Zahirovic, "Design failures," Interaction Design Foundation, accessed 1 April, 2020,
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/design-failures.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Robert J. Lang and Kevin Box, "ONE IN A BILLION (SILVER)," Robert J. Lang ORIGAMI, accessed 1 April, 2020,
https://langorigami.com/artwork/one-in-a-billion-silver/.
[12] "‘Instead of a scar, I had a piece of art’: women on their post-mastectomy tattoos," The impossible body, The Guardian, published Sep 22, 2018,
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/sep/22/instead-scar-piece-art-women-mastectomy-tattoos.
Bibliography:
Cross, Nigel. “The nature and nurture of design ability.” Design Studies 11, issue 3 (July 1990): 127-140. https://doi.org/10.1016/0142-694X(90)90002-T.
Lang, J. Robert, Box, Kevin. "ONE IN A BILLION (SILVER)." Robert J. Lang ORIGAMI. Accessed 1 April, 2020.
https://langorigami.com/artwork/one-in-a-billion-silver/.
The Guardian. "‘Instead of a scar, I had a piece of art’: women on their post-mastectomy tattoos." The impossible body. Published Sep 22, 2018.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/sep/22/instead-scar-piece-art-women-mastectomy-tattoos.
Zahirovic, Armin. "Design failures." Interaction Design Foundation. Accessed 1 April, 2020.
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/design-failures
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