Dear Terry,
I think that your definition of design is much too narrow for a very large part of design activities by designers.
In many cases in design the created 'specification' is embedded in the creation, and not somehow separated from it as some kind of a recipe.
For example, graphic design or software design create often such outcomes. In many cases it would be hardly useful to create a graphic design 'specification' that tells how to draw and create a composition e.g. for a poster as opposed to doing it. Or a specification how to write the code without writing it. I am not saying that in these areas of design there are no such situations where separate specifications also are made - there are.
However, I do not see why it would be useful to classify the design activity that does not produce a separate specification as something else than design. I think that 'design' and 'making' often coincide without the separate 'creating a specification' activity. I would say that the essence of designing is to create the idea, form, organization, or whatever it is that forms the essential nature of the thing that was created (depending much on what it is - a material artifact, a campaign, a concept, a system, an organization,...) rather than in the technical format of the output.
I am very surprised that you would consider such a narrow idea of 'design' activity useful....? For what purpose?
cheers, Kari-Hans
On Feb 26, 2013, at 2:51 AM, Terence Love wrote:
> There are advantages in distinguishing between:
>
> 1. Activities that result in creating 'a design'
>
> 2. Activities that result in creating 'something else'
>
> In contrast, if you focus only on 'activities that result in creating a
> 'design' , where 'a design' is a 'specification for making or doing
> something' then you will find that it only includes what it needs to
> include and excludes the rest. From experience, this is useful as a
> clarifying theory foundation for all other aspects of design theory making
> and design research. I haven't found exceptions, and I'd welcome if others
> can find them.
------------------
Kari-Hans Kommonen
Director, Arki research group
Media Lab, Dept of Media
Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture
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