A Design Leftover
The etymology and cultural meanings of design¹s historic root metaphors seem
mainly to identify design with its focal processes and practices - design is
what designers do - and not what design is for. It begs the question:
drawing, planning, drawing out of, conceiving in the mind, making etcŠ to
what end? That is why I admire Simon¹s robust, distillation of design¹s
purpose: (in short) to change the existing into the preferred.
This description doesn¹t replace or diminish the meaning of design,
designing or any of its resonant traditions. Rather, it gathers design's
broad and diverse family together under the tent of what designing is all
about. Written large, I think Simon's formulation points to designing as a
basic mode of thinking whose end is to (at least to attempt to consciously
guide) the creation of a dynamic, evolving human culture.
I see this as a primary path intertwined with the discovery and application
of knowledge. I also tend to agree with Ranulph¹s view that design research
is a sub-set of designing, knowledge in service to culture making, and not
the other way around.
Most of us who have spent our life in research universities are familiar
with the commonly stated university mission of research, teaching and
service. The new president of Oregon State University, our land grant
institution, surprised me the other day when he said that their university
mission was research, policy, teaching and service.
I¹m quite sure he doesn¹t care that I think it should be policy, research,
teaching and service, but one step at a time.
Jerry
--
Jerry Diethelm
Architect - Landscape Architect
Planning & Urban Design Consultant
Prof. Emeritus of Landscape Architecture
and Community Service € University of Oregon
2652 Agate St., Eugene, OR 97403
€ e-mail: [log in to unmask]
€ web: http://pages.uoregon.edu/diethelm/
€ 541-686-0585 home/work 541-346-1441 UO
€ 541-206-2947 work/cell
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design
Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|