Dear Peter,

Thank you for sharing very interesting ideas about design, design education, and the multiple disciplinary and professional relationships! 

I would suggest an alternative view without any intent to contradict, but rather, to explore different modes. I understand everything that you say and feel very comfortable with it. Actually, the designer in me feels very much at ease with such ideas. I feel flattered as a designer and feel pretty good. However, there is a reason to explore the importance of domain knowledge, if I interpret you correctly. I mean profession-specific knowledge. 

Design domains can be so different in their nature that a designer trained in one area might not be able to function at all in a distant area. It might even be very difficult to retool, even impossible. Let's consider an information designer, a computer hardware designer, and an architectural designer. I bet that these people would not be able to fill for each other. If they do not report to work, the other guy would not be able to fill in.

We have talked many times about the common ground. I don't want to frustrate people, and will say that there is common ground. However, it is at philosophical level. Philosophy of design and other philosophical considerations might be pretty similar or at least easily comprehensible across different design domains. However, the more we move away from the general issues towards technicalities, the more we see the differences between the domains. At the production documents level, it is impossible to function without very specific domain knowledge. Some people may not have problem with this, but I strongly believe that knowledge about the whole process from inception to manufacturing is very important. It helps conceive ideas that are innovative, yet doable with a bit of ingenuity. I have no problem with the technical faults of the star architects. This is a part of the process of exploration and innovation. However, even they have a pretty good technical knowledge, not below the level of an average job captain.

Best wishes,

Lubomir



-----Original Message-----
From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Peter Jones | Redesign
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 10:42 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Design: Dismay and delight

Thanks Don. And please maybe share Bruce's talk if its published post-talk. 

Perhaps a real value in Core77 and this list is staging the argument, the
bazaar model of socializing an inquiry. You can't get people to engage in
wikis and Twitter in this depth, I think that's why email lists serve so
well.

I still consider Dick Buchanan's minding that "design has no subject matter"
and that designing as a craft is skilled performance learned by apprenticing
and applying.  Domain expertise is learned by continuity and socialization,
not reading and quick study. I think a spectrum of domain expertise needs to
be considered for senior designers, where a world-class designer specializes
in a select few domains because - at first - these projects are high impact
and rewarding. Then as field expertise accrues, they become invaluable
senior advisors in a given field and can serve in social capacities such as
authors, congressional or expert witnesses. Like you have in several fields.

I'm finishing a chapter on medical and patient education for a Rosenfeld
book I'm feverishly finishing (http://designforcare.com ) The residency
model of education has been called a craft practice by the medical
literature, and I think there are lessons to be learned from medicine for
design studio apprenticeship. 

More later, thanks, Peter


-----Original Message-----
From: Don Norman [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 10:19 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Design: Dismay and delight

Peter (and list readers)

(During a break in the Milan conference -- Just heard a great talk by Bruce
Brown of Brighton on "economies of meaning.")

I am trying hard to write a piece on design education. I have now decided
that the generalist-specialist argument is wrong with regard to designers.
Designers are not generalists, they are specialists in design, and what they
offer is a unique point of view and approach to problem solving.

Designers must work with domain experts. Many designers pride themselves on
being quick learners, able to acquire considerable relevant domain expertise
quickly, deep enough to be able to interact intelligently with the real
domain experts.

But I am still trying to work out the argument.

Don