On Aug 16, 2013, at 10:59 AM, Don Norman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> designers design -- they build, they create. And a lot of the design
> thinking process comes about through the construction, whether drawings,
> models, or what-have you.
>
> BUT, one could make a similar argument for all professions. Writers think
> by writing, artists by sketching or sculpting, programmers by coding, ....
Don,
The interesting thing to me as a teacher of design (as well as a designer and an analyst of design and designing) is how to make sure that the building happens on the most useful level. That means prototyping or representation that is clear enough to give useful information (I'm using "information" broadly to include emotional feedback, etc.) but represents a low enough investment that people are willing to learn and move on rather than to preserve what was made. The low investment part also allows repeated and frequent making.
While we all object to waste at the manufacturing and distribution stages of projects, waste of some sort at the design stage is a good sign. I find that one of the harder things to teach a lot of people(and sometimes myself) is the skill of letting go. I tell my students that the job of a graphic designer is making Sophie's choice. (For anyone who hasn't read the William Styron novel or seen the movie with Meryl Streep as Sophie, the choice in the title is when an Auschwitz officer makes her choose which of her children would go directly to the gas chamber and which would stay with her.) If they think my metaphor is too depressing, I tell them that it's really Sophie's sperm bank. The one that doesn't stay with you will probably get thawed out later for another project.
You're right that the construction itself is an important part of the thinking process and is vital beyond merely assuring that prototypes appear for consideration.
Gunnar
Gunnar Swanson
East Carolina University
graphic design program
http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cfac/soad/graphic/index.cfm
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Gunnar Swanson Design Office
1901 East 6th Street
Greenville NC 27858
USA
http://www.gunnarswanson.com
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+1 252 258-7006
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