Dear Ellen,
Thanks for your comment on my articles and writings.
Your wrote, "It seems to me in my on and off reading of the PhD list
over the last couple of years that there are some significant
discrepancies as to how the discipline of design is viewed. Is it a
science? This view seems well represented by Ken Friedman, among
others, who often generously offers up authors' names and specific
citations to demonstrate his position."
My view of design is specific and somewhat different than the term as
many use it. By science, I mean a systemic and understandable body of
knowledge and practice. This is a science in the full sense of which
philosophy and critical studies are sciences, along with
anthropology, chemistry, or even theology.
Two articles present these issues at length. I am happy, as always,
to provide copies of these articles on request.
The article "Design Science and Design Education" considers the ways
in which design may constitute a science, with careful clarifications
and a defined range of issues. It also applies these to design
studies and learning design.
Anyone who wishes a copy of "Design Science and Design Education"
should send an email to <[log in to unmask]> with the header Subject:
Design Science.
The article "Creating Design Knowledge" examines design as an
interdisciplinary field comprised of domains of practice and domains
of inquiry. The article proposes a model that locates design practice
and design inquiry in a circle of six fields. A horizon bisects the
circle into fields of theoretical study and fields of practice and
application. The model represents six general domains of design.
These domains are (1) natural sciences, (2) humanities and liberal
arts, (3) social and behavioral sciences, (4) human professions and
services, (5) creative and applied arts, and (6) technology and
engineering.
Anyone who wishes a copy of "Creating Design Knowledge" should send
an email to <[log in to unmask]> with the Subject: Design Knowledge.
In my view, the practice of design is both an art and a science, as
the practice or medicine is. As in the practice of medicine, advances
in design are made through the systematic sciences of inquiry, and
through a scientific and systematic approach to the arts of practice.
Best regards,
Ken
--
Ken Friedman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design
Department of Leadership and Organization
Norwegian School of Management
Visiting Professor
Advanced Research Institute
School of Art and Design
Staffordshire University
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