Hi Lars,
Good points you gave.
You wrote:
«Ps Sophia Coppola actively uses design metaphors in developing her films,
advice so by her father. The design metaphor, called theme, for "Marie
Antoinette" was "indulgence".»
Could you give us more information on that and, since we are discussing
words and "languge" (which might be a huge lemming? Dang, when Iwas attacked
by those languges, thank God I had my faithfull winchester with me :-)) what
was the metaphor for "Lost in Translation"?
Thanks,
Eduardo
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lars Albinsson" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 8:54 AM
Subject: SV: Languge in design theory (Was Re: Disciplines, Fuss, etc)
Dear all,
This touches on my dissertation, so it is hard not to respond
In thinking language is an important tool in design of everything. This tool
can also be designed. I have many examples of when language is explicitly
designed to drive design. For instance the use of Design Metaphors, that I
take to mean actively using different metaphors for what should be designed.
An architect may choose to call the building s/he is about to design
"meeting place" rather than "house" in order to drive design in a certain
direction.
(Krippendorff write about this in "The semantic turn")
As I often lead (co-)design process involving many diverse stakeholders, not
just so called users, the choice and even invention of design metaphors is
crucial.
In the Avanti project, a large EU project where cities (London, Stockholm,
Edinburgh and Ventspils) aiming at developing e-services for citizens that
had no computer experience we had a remarkable experience. First we asked a
group of elderly "what computer support don you want?" The reaction was
blank eyes and "we are too old for this." Then we said think of it as
assistant that can do just about anything, then what do you want it to do.
They would say "is that possible? Then we would like to get help learning to
read email with pictures of my grand-children."
The "assistant" metaphor was far more useful than the "computer support"
metaphor.
Of course also when we design science we also use metaphors, "discipline"
being one.
The discussion on the list on the "design discipline" I think would benefit
from also discussing these as metaphors and if they are useful, not just
arguing "what they actually are".
If I would start designing of a "design discipline" I would begin by asking
myself who is supposed to be served by this discipline and in what way. Then
I would try to find useful design metaphors for driving the design.
Best Regards,
Lars
Ps Sophia Coppola actively uses design metaphors in developing her films,
advice so by her father. The design metaphor, called theme, for "Marie
Antoinette" was "indulgence".
Ps references for all statements, claims and examples are available on
request.
**************************************
Lars Albinsson
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+ 46 (0) 70 592 70 45
Affiliations:
Maestro Management AB www.maestro.se
Calistoga Springs Research Institute www.calistoga.se
School of Business and Informatics
University College of Borås www.hb.se
**************************************
-----Ursprungligt meddelande-----
Från: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related
research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] För Terence
Skickat: den 3 oktober 2007 04:21
Till: [log in to unmask]
Ämne: FW: Languge in design theory (Was Re: Disciplines, Fuss, etc)
Hi Klaus,
In justifying your position on abstractions and theory you say,
" i[sic] am convinced and share that convictions with many philosophers of
language and social constructivists that we live and understand in
language.."
In many posts to this list, you have expressed a position that depends on
seeing language as the foundation of human functioning and thinking.
I invite you to reconsider.
To a hammer everything is a nail. For those such as philosophers, academics
and communicators whose daily life is primarily focused on words, they can
tend to see the world as if it is only made of language. This follows the
same pattern as those whose job is drawing and tend to see the world in
terms of drawing. Similarly, engineers can tend to see the world as if it is
a machine and designers can tend to view the world as if everything is a
design.
That doesn't mean that any of these is correct, complete or wholesome.
In the case of the language, there are simple personal experience and
empirical tests that indicate otherwise. For example:
1. Drop out of language use for a few days. Do not talk, read or use words.
The resultant experience is that thinking happens differently. It still
happens but without dependence on words.
2. Look at aphasic stroke victims whose language centre has been destroyed.
This is a common outcome of left-brain strokes. The individuals can still
think and operate, but not through words. Both speech and writing are no
longer possible, but it is clear that thinking, feeling, emoting and acting
are still possible
3. I know a man here in Western Australia who is a long term meditator and
who has extensive Alzheimer's disease well past the point that he would
normally be in care. His habit of living moment by moment and without much
dependence on a culturally, word-mediated, picture of reality means he can
continue to live by himself and function relatively normally.
The above indicate that language is only a superficial secondary aspect of
human functioning (a bit like those who use cars so much that they forget
that they can also get places by walking).
This suggests that we should view its role more as a tool. A tool for
improving communication and extending our memory.
Language fulfils these roles better if we focus on using definitions and
socially agreed meanings that reduce ambiguity - rather than reifying the
way individuals use words differently. I would suggest that the latter
hinders rather than helps overall.
In developing a stronger and more coherent foundation for design research
across design disciplines. It may be better that we see langauge and the use
of words in this way.
Thoughts?
Best regards,
Terry
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