Category Archives: Methods

The Politics of Design

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The ever-eloquent Paul Rand gave his opinion on many things in his life. Here is one on the politics of design (and through it, his assertion that designers need to feel empowered in the decisions they make, and for businessmen and others to trust them):

The creative arts have always labored under adverse conditions. Subjectivity emotion, and opinion seem to be concomitants of artistic questions. The layman feels insecure and awkward about making design judgments, even though he pretends to make them with a certain measure of know-how. But, like it or not, business conditions compel many to get inextricably involved with problems in which design plays some role.

For the most part, the creation or effects of design, unlike science, are neither measurable nor predictable, nor are the results necessarily repeatable. If there is any assurance, besides faith, a businessman can have, it is in choosing talented, competent, and experienced designers

Paul Rand.

The Sound Word Observer

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While I’ve never really thought of my emoticon typings having an actual sound, RCA grads are developing a crowd-sourced directory for just that: the Sound Word Observer shows what !!!! and Yyyeeaaaaah amongst others sound like.

It’s pretty basic at this stage, but it’ll be interesting to see if this progresses to the levels of data of say, the We Feel Fine or the British Library Evolving English sites.

via Design Observer

IDEO Techbox

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One trend that’s coming out of the literature is the need for designers to have material samples available for inspiration. One of the most well known (and perhaps most idiosyncratic) is the Tech Box at IDEO. Started by Dennis Boyle as a drawer under a table, it has grown to be a set of over 200 pieces that is duplicated in each IDEO studio with a dedicated curator.

The printed information I can find relating to this dates back to 1999 (so a lot may have changed). Still, there are some interesting points:

[the Tech Box] is a combination parts and materials library, database and website, and organizational memory. It allows IDEO to archive its wide array of experience gained from work across many industries and share it across all studios in our worldwide network.

What is worth noting here is the pluralistic nature of the information: it is physical, technical, and anecdotal:

Each Tech Box has several drawers holding hundreds of objects, from smart fabrics to elegant mechanisms to clever toys, each of which are tagged and numbered. Designers and engineers can rummage through the compartments, play with the items, and apply materials used by other designers and engineers within the company to their current project. The entire contents of the Tech Box are available on IDEO’s intranet through a searchable website, with each item listing its specifications, including manufacturer and price, and an additional IDEO anecdote with designer and project info if applicable. The Tech Box is a valuable resource that designers and engineers use to gain inspiration, break out of a holding pattern, or merely avoid reinventing the wheel.

Unfortunately the information about the boxes are kept behind closed doors (or those lucky clients)

All major IDEO offices maintain a duplicate Tech Box, each with its own curator who oversees the addition of new materials, and most IDEO employees are constantly on the lookout for likely candidates for addition. Additionally, IDEO offers the Tech Box as part of its innovation services, as its clients become increasingly aware of the value of knowledge management.

There is also a New York Times piece from around the time the box was first publicised that  gives information about the background to the project.

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Image from IDEO site 

Desform 2012

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Last month I got the opportunity to head back home to New Zealand to present my research so far at the DesForM 2012 conference in Wellington (Unfortunately the jetlag — known by William Gibson as soul-delay — was so bad that I only really recovered the day I flew out!). The proceedings are all available for free online, and I’ve also put my slides up for perusal.

My talk was about part of the pilot studies of my research. I talked to a number of students at the New Designers show in London last year to see how they understood haptic qualities in relation to their own work.

I was also busy on the twitters during the conference and did storifys of the two academic days as well as the final industry day. The two keynotes were videorecorded, including Neil Leach’s on the future of architecture (also see my storify)


and the hypnotically soothing Phillip Beaseley on his highly sensory sculptures with future forward materials and construction.

I was also interested in a number of the other talks, ranging from cognitive blends, to Camille Mousette’s similar work in terms of haptic prototyping.

Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches.

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“Methodology refers to more than a simple set of methods; rather it refers to the rationale and the philosophical assumptions that underlie a particular study, it consists of an analysis of the principles of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a discipline or within a particular study.  Research methods, according to Bernard (2000) can be discussed at three different levels: epistemology, strategy and execution.  The first level, epistemology, relates to the study of the nature of knowledge, particularly its foundations, scope and validity.  One of the founding considerations of any epistemological standpoint is an associated ontological stance and questions raised regarding either field are highly inter-related.  The second level refers to strategic choices; which methods or structure of methods would be best suited to the research topic, ensure rigour, validity and consistency and how these methods and organising structures might relate to anticipated outcomes.  The third level is used to describe the execution of particular methods and refers to the specific techniques being employed.  Decisions at all three levels will influence the quality and significance of the research outcome.”
Bernard, H.R.

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Bernard, H.R. (2000) Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Placement and Categories

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Placements are the tools by which a designer intuitively or deliberately shapes a design situation, identifying the views of all participants, the issues which concern them, and the invention that will serve as a working hypothesis for exploration and development.

— Richard Buchanan, ‘Wicked Problems in Design Thinking’ Design Issues, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Spring, 1992), pp. 5-21

Buchannan suggests that we consider design not in the traditional terms of categories, but as placements. While the former have fixed boundaries and meanings, placements have “boundaries to shape and constrain meaning, but are not rigidly fixed and determinate … [giving] a context or orientation to thinking, but the application to a specific situation can generate a new perception of that situation and, hence, a new possibility to be tested.”

Crucially, he points out that designers use placements first and categories second …  but that design history and theory does the opposite.

I was pointed to this research by the work of Jason Hobbs and Terrence Fenn, who presented on indeterminate knowledge and design education at EuroIA.