Dear Luke,
'To make something difficult is easy. To make something easy is difficult' (Osho).
The problem with the many definitions of design is people have tried to make the definition feel easy and obvious with respect to the perspective of their lens of design practice. It doesn't work. The result is that the design theory based on such easy definitions becomes impossibly difficult.
How do I know? I've tested hundreds of definitions of design and found the problems with them in terms of creating theory from them.
The definition I described may appear to be 'difficult' or feel uncomfortable compared to other definitions but its advantage is it makes easier creating consistent design theory that resolves all the major epistemological problems of design theory and design research.
If you doubt this, please test the definitions I described and get back to me if you find it not so. Also if you feel there are definitions that will do better then please send them to me and I'll identify any problems I see with them.
The definition of design I described is clear
'A design IS a specification'
That is a 'necessary and sufficient' definition, i.e. a design is a specification - not anything else.
What that specification (the design) specifies (the something to be actualised using the design) is entirely secondary and subsequent and irrelevant to the definition.
Best wishes,
Terry
--
Dr Terence Love
PhD (UWA), B.A. (Hons) Engin, PGCE. FDRS, AMIMechE, PMACM, MISI
Director,
Love Services Pty Ltd
PO Box 226, Quinns Rocks Western Australia 6030
Tel: +61 (0)4 3497 5848
Fax:+61 (0)8 9305 7629
[log in to unmask]
--
.
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Luke Feast
Sent: Tuesday, 7 January 2014 4:43 AM
To: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design
Subject: Specifying something to be made or done
Dear Terry,
In your definition of 'a design', you state that 'something' is specified. Can you please say some more about how you see the relationship between the 'something' and the specification?
In particular, I am interested in whether your definition requires a sharp distinction between the 'something' and the specification, and whether there is primacy of the specification over the 'something'.
The same question holds for the 'something' and the 'be[ing] made or done'.
In your view, is there a sharp distinction between these aspects and primacy of one over the other?
Best wishes,
Luke
-snip-
In the definition, the term 'specification' is simply something that is specified.
How it is specified is not specified in the definition. So any means of specification is fine - maths, words, whatever. The crucial issue is that it is specific.
-snip-
-snip-
'A design' - a specification of something that is to be made or done 'A designer' - someone or something that creates a design (as defined
above) by whatever means, including non-goal directed means 'To design' - to create a design (as defined above) by whatever means, including non-goal directed mean
-snip-
--
Luke Feast | Lecturer | Early Career Development Fellow | PhD Candidate | Faculty of Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
| [log in to unmask] | Ph: +61 3 9214 6165 |
http://www.swinburne.edu.au/design/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|