Contextualising Design 20th October

Design Thinking

This lecture was about 'design thinking' and was packed full of information and quotes. This was the opening 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

The very first message was that the most important thing about design is how it relates to people, I agree with this as design needs to relate to people for people to be able to relate to design. If design didn't relate to people then there would be no reason for design.

"Design is the conscious and intuitive effort to impose meaningful order."

-Victor Papanek

Design is 'a problem solving activity that enables designers to determine creative solutions to communicate problems.' 

I think this is true in a lot of design, for example in animation you have first hand public information films but then you also have the likes of Disney and Pixar films that don't express problems directly to the audience but do it subtly through lots of different situations that happen in the films, the same is done in illustration but through still images. In product design they look at previous products and find their problems and try to improve them or make something better etc. 

Victor Papanek designed The Function Complex- 

- Method 

-Use 

-Need 

-Telesis

-Association

- Aesthetics

I understood what all of the the words meant, except one - Telesis, I had never heard of it in my life! So I looked up the definition...

Telesis - The purposeful use of natural and social processes to obtain specific social goals.

This gave me some sort of idea as to what it meant but not fully. 

Six Phases of Production and Resulting Pollution

-Choice of Material

-Manufacturing Process

-Packaging of Product

-The Finished Product

-Transportation

-Waste

I was quite confused when this came up as I didn't understand as to how this related to what was being said previously, of course I understand these are very important things to consider and think about when designing something. But it made sense when we were shown the tutors 'Ten Commandments' that she made herself..

The Ten Commandments of Design

1. Remember, the most important thing about design is how it relates to people. 
2. Thou shalt endeavour  to be a responsible designer and strive to make the world a better place
3. Thou shalt consider function, "What does it do?", "Is it useful?", "Does it do the job for which it is intended?"
4. Thou shalt consider audience, "Who is it for?", "What is being communicated and why?"
5. Thou shalt consider the economic, cost effectiveness of manufacture with due regard to you client.
6. Thou shalt not choose materials and processes that pollute the air we breathe, but appropriate eco friendly ones.
7. Thou shalt not squander skills devising unnecessary gizmos and trinkets or consider fancy techniques that are not pertinent to the idea or concept
8. Thou shalt choose appropriate design methods and techniques that both solve the problem and are aesthetically pleasing
9. Thou shalt be self-critical and evaluate the political environment in which design takes place.
10. Thou shalt always keep an ethical vision in mind and consider social consequences for the rest of society. 

These are very important messages and things to think about when designing. 

The Cox Review

"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

 I completely agree with this, it's like I said earlier on, product designers take something that has been made before and solves the problem of how to improve it or to make something completely different that is better by being innovative as well as creative. 

What is your design philosophy?

Three Constructs of Design

- Being able to apply skills appropriately

Design is about doing

- Being able to meet the needs of society

Design is about interpreting

-Being able to communicate

Design is about living

Design Philosophy

-The values of design

- The importance of having a design philosophy and developing a design thinking mindset.

Design Thinking Mindset

-Design is about being human centred

-really great designers care about the people they are designing for

-Another attribute of design is that it is collaborative

It was said that some designers 'design philosophy' is to make the design look good aesthetically but others also think about the message that the design is given and the reason for the design. I would say that I am mainly a designer that looks at the aesthetics, up until the start of this year where we have been looking at 'the message' behind our work. I have come to appreciate that for a design to be strong it needs to relate to its particular audience it is aimed at, it needs to have message and it needs to make sense- everything must have a reason for being there in the design. Otherwise (especially in animation) it won't be believable to the audience and they won't understand it. 

"A plan for an artefact or system of artefacts."

- Dictionary Definition of Design

"Today we need a broader definition of design in which the key measurement is not styling, but performance."

- Marty Neumeier

"Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones."

- Herbert Simon

"Design is change"

-Change by Design

"Design is all around you; everything man-made has been designed, whether consciously or not."

-Matt Hunter, Chief Design Officer from the Design Council

The question therefore isn't so much 'what is design and why does it matter?' but 'how can I use good design to make the world around me better?' 

This is a very big statement, it seems impossible to make the world a better place by design, but then you look at Matt Hunters quote and think about it. EVERYTHING MAN MADE HAS BEEN DESIGNED, from the buttons on your mouse and keys on your keyboard to the village, town or city you live in and beyond. Looking out of my window I can only say that the only things that aren't man-made are the sky, the clouds in it, possibly a couple of trees peaking over the top of some houses and some weeds in the front garden, everything else is man-made and has been designed. Therefore the statement may not be as far fetched as first thought, maybe the world could be made at least a little better (lets face it, this world will never be perfect) or if not then maybe make certain groups and communities better. This may be going deep but just think, if we scrapped everything that has been designed in the world and redesigned it all - for the better, how different this world could actually be? 

What is meant by impact?

Constructs of Impact

Make a difference

Able to influence

Remembered

Help others

Communicate effectively

Change society

Stir emotion

Persuade

Preserving the environment

Design Thinking and the T Shaped Designer

-USA influences

-High profile consultancies such as IDEO and Jump

-Design thinking has evolved to become something more important and influential in today's world

-It is important to understand the difference between being a designer; discovering the power of design thinking

The T Shaped Designer

Breadth of Knowlegde

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Depth of

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Values of

The tutor then said "Design Thinking is like 'The Force' in Star Wars." By this she meant that it takes a lot to master but once mastered it can be a very powerful thing. I loved her comparison. 

"Design thinking relies on our ability to be intuitive, to recognise patterns, to construct ideas that have emotional meaning as well as functionality, to express ourselves in media other than words and symbols."

-Tim Brown, Change by Design 2009

The Design Process

• The British Design Council
• To explore broader knowledge and understanding of the design process
• Double Diamond Design Process (Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver)

The double diamond process is an interesting process that can be used when designing. So Discover is like research where you discover something, you then Define it, Develop it and then Deliver the final product. I find this process very similar to what I have been doing so far for my briefs.

"There are useful starting points and landmarks, but the road to innovation consists of overlapping spaces or paths, rather than a sequence of steps in one direction."

-Tim Brown, Change by Design 

The first stage of the design process is often discovering and evaluating constraints. the acceptance of these are important in design thinking.

• Feasibility (what is functionally possible)
• Viability (what is likely to become part of a sustainable business model)
• Desirability (what makes sense to people and for people)

The aim of a design thinker is to form a solution that is a harmonious balance between all three.

The Importance of Embracing Design Thinking

Linking design thinking principles and practices to becoming T shaped designers whereby you can help businesses, gain employment and create meaningful impact on society.

• To apply the principles and methods of design thinking into creative design practice
• To promote the role of a T shaped designer and extend employment opportunities.
• To empower you with the attributes of design thinking that will enable you to create meaningful impact through your work and ultimately benefit business and society as a whole. 

Design Thinking Methodology

• Taking a human centre approach to problem solving
• What is possible from the use of materials, media and techniques
• What is viable from a financial and business point of view
• Mindful of many moral and philosophical rules
• Educating the client
• Good communication skills
• Craft Skill
• A sense of entrepreneurial flair
• Many considerations that are all fluid at the same time and often extremely complex

Creative Graduates Creative Futures

• More importance must also be placed on entrepreneurship and networking skills
• Employment increasingly comes from collaborating with others from a variety of sources
• Design thinking comes from having a broad interdisciplinary mindset
• promoting design thinking across other disciplines enables the ability to tackle new projects and solve problems in new ways
• There is a learning process that comes from working on complex issues and exploring new frontiers in unfamiliar territory.

From this I have learnt what can make you a good designer, a different way at looking at design and how to approach it, the importance of design - good design in particular, that its good to collaborate and how design thinking will expand your employability. I found this a very interesting lecture and learnt quite a lot from it!