Dear Friends,

Yesterday I got a notice of this new book by Harold G. Nelson and Erik
Stolterman, published in May 2003. I haven't read it yet so I cannot
give a preliminary review, but on the basis of the abstract it seem to
offer some material for the last weeks' intensive discussion about the
possible origins of 'the grand theory of design'. Nelson and Stolterman
seem to approach (consciously or unconsciously) the direction of
dialectical materialism from a practical viewpoint.
The idea that (quoting Lubomir's last mail) that "in every human
activity we can find a design phase or element, no matter whether it is
institutionalized or not, explicated or not, and reflected or not" seem
to be present also in Nelson&Stolteman's thinking, although in a way
that echoes Marx's concept of 'revolutionary practice' (except that in
the first lines of the abstract the concept of 'revolutionary practice'
is replaced by 'design'). Well, every one sentence in the beginning of
the abstract gives such an enormous bite to chew that I guess have to
read the book first before starting to interpret what they might mean
and who they refer in the first place. Let's talk more about this later!

Best regards,

Ulla-Maaria


  Here is the abstract of the book:

The Design Way
Intentional Change in an Unpredictable World -
Foundations and Fundamentals of Design Competence

by Harold G. Nelson and Erik Stolterman


This book explores the idea of design as the ongoing genesis of the
real world—the seminal process of world creation. The authors make the
case for design as both the oldest form of human intention—the one that
defines us as being human—and design as one of the emerging approaches
to creative human inquiry and innovative action, superbly suited to
facilitating intentional change in an unpredictable, complex and
dynamic world. Design is presented as an intrinsic process that people
are continually engaged in and have used throughout time. Explained as
a form of strategic intent, design is presented as disparate from
problem solving. Rather, it is presented as a tradition of reflective
inquiry and practical action; distinct from science and art, built on
its own foundations, with its own fundamentals and located within its
own metaphysical domains. Design is treated as a means of creating both
the material and immaterial world. The book is a composition of ideas
that creates an image of design, designers and designing as an
integration of imagination, systemic reasoning and pragmatic action
with applications in business, government, and the professions. The
book provides a starting point for the acquisition of personal and
organizational design competence. The authors introduce the challenges
of design learning and education with an eye to the development of
design character.
---------------------------

References:
Karl Marx (1845) Theses On Feuerbach.
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/theses/

--
Ulla-Maaria Mutanen
M.Sc.(Econ.) IDBM
Ph.D Student
University of Helsinki
Center for Activity Theory and
Developmental Work Research
P.O. Box 47
FIN 00014 University of Helsinki
Tel. int. + 358 9 191 4818
Mobile + 358 40 5845774
Telefax + 358 9 191 4844
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