Dear Terry, Clive, and all,
The same way I tend not to reduce human relationships to gender nor to some individuals and groups power trip, I also tend not to reduce design only to the (hard) technical nor to the (soft)human aspects. I feel that most of us agree that the optimal designing activity/process would indeed include both, neither of the two being "overemphasized". Both should be carefully and thoroughly researched, separately but ideally concurrently, in order to reach an optimal "calculus of value" as Professor Victor Margolin would say.
For example, in order to qualify as a "good" (i.e. optimum) design output, the activity of the pipe threading and fitting engineer would also need to be supplemented as well with specifications related to the physical, psychological and the socio-cultural aspects of all users, humans and non-humans who, directly or indirectly, sooner or later, will be in contact with the designed artifact.
Regards
François
Montréal
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