Hear, hear!
In conversations like these I tend to like a figure of thought collected from institutionalism
"I have said that we should not worry too much about the question 'But is it Design?'. What we should worry about are the reasons given, if any, for the judgment that something is design, because these arguments will characteristically appeal to values and norms, and thus will reveal underlying conception of design."
(it is a Paraphrase of Lars-Olof Åhlberg, who wrote on concepts and conceptions of art)
Most common underlying reasons are "legitimacy" and "exclusion". And when these act together as reasons, it is a sign that something exciting is going on among the "excluded" or on the fringes. And this will inevitably contribute to the development of what is done "inside". Think of art, and the camera. Or art, and Duchamp's bottle rack.
Apart from this, one important key is Don's "Each approach needs the other." Which then translates into something like "How do I make you add value", "You add value to me by..." and/or "Do we add value together". The action, the appreciation of others, and the reciprocity, is of main importance. And "Do I add value" is the articulation of self-awareness in this.
So, Don (and all of you), don't retire until you're done making us add value!
/Stefan Holmlid
--------------
Stefan Holmlid, associate prof (docent) Interaction & Service Design
E: [log in to unmask] | P: +46 13 285633
W: http://www.ida.liu.se/~ixs/ | T: @shlmld
A: IDA, Linköping University, 581 83 LINKÖPING
-----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 Don Norman
Sent: den 29 augusti 2013 01:46
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Perhaps it is the word "Designer" that is the problem
Reviewing the arguments for and against designer certification, licensing,
and accreditation of schools makes me realize that we are all talking about
different things.
/.../
I have argued (in "Emotional Design") that everyone is a designer. Some of
you (including my friend Bill Buxton) got very upset at that section of the
book. But yes, I insist that everyone designs, but only a few are
professional designers. Look, many people are tennis or golf players. That
doesn't make them professionals. In fact, the more people that call
themselves tennis or golf players, the more they appreciate professionals,
and the more they watch professional events. This should be equally true of
design.
/.../
What is my discipline? I don't know. I simply say that i am interested in
the relationship of people and society to technology. The field that
covers these issues best, that is most concerned about the development of
technology, is design. That's why I spend so much time with designers. None
of the people ask whether or not I'm a designer. they ask whether or not i
add value. When i stop adding value, it is time to retire.
That's what i ask of all people and of all disciplines: Do you add value?
/.../
Am i an interaction designer? Yes, i claim. Interaction design has come
from many sources: one is the design field, the other from psychology and
human-computer interaction. I have argued that interaction designers from
HCI don't know much about design, but that interaction designers from deign
don't know much about interaction. Instead of arguing which approach is
better, we need to combine the approaches. Each approach needs the other.
As far as i can tell, few design schools offer the right training. Note
that the excellent HCI Institute at Carnegie Mellon is located in the
Computer Science department, not in the Design department (although some
faculty are in both).
/.../
---
Am I a designer? You decide. But why do you care?
What matters is what we do. Do we add value?
Don
--
Don Norman
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