Hello Dr. Love
re: Simon's glory
Thank you for framing these very contemporary issues as "complex" yet
related, rather than oppositional.

As a young faculty member emerging in the field of design (I currently
operate out of the fashion department at the University of North Texas),
looking for ways in which to apply socially responsible design to the
traditional modes of technical education, the idea that the students
(emerging designers) have a role to play has a critical impact in how
design education is executed. But, as large institutions try to become more
limber or more open to the incorporation of these ideas, are we as design
educators doing enough to affect a trickle down effect, such as helping
smaller schools (community colleges) or early education programs also make
this transition?

While I agree that socially responsible design is being addressed, both in
the traditional sense (incorporating CSR initiatives such as zero waste)
and in how we approach the end user (such as through more inclusive
participatory design methods of design development), this second mode
involves a broader arena of design, that evolves out of a response to the
multi-ethnic and varied abilities of the consumer population, in
challenging how design itself can be more inclusive, both in how we design,
who we design for, and through the incorporating of participatory design
methods which allow the end user to contribute as a way of making design
more meaningful. This agenda aligns with some of the larger conversations
taking place in user experience design, human computer interaction,
socially responsible design, and in how evidence based design could be
incorporated into the design process. As society shifts based on
repopulation and its adoption of members into the workforce with
alternative needs and abilities, should this approach not also be a concern
of early art and design education, not only at the university?

In this respect, I wonder if there is a third aspect that also needs to be
championed, whereby these ideas of socially responsible design become as
foundational in design education as form and content on a broader level-
perhaps even within K-12 art programs. I ask this only in response to many
of the inquires my students present during weekly lectures or during studio
based course work, in trying to help them make connections between their
desires for a "better world", and how they can have a direct impact on its
development. This idea builds upon and expands Donald Schon's notions of
the reflexive practitioner, if we include practitioners who are meeting the
needs of the other 99%.

Incorporating these initiatives into design software would be a great
starting point- but is there more that we as a design community need to do
to help 'move this idea along'? In that sense, I was wondering if members
of this listserv might be able to comment on how Simon's building blocks
(taking an existing situation and changing it into a preferred one) might
be echoed in the larger conversation of how we as design educators can not
only impact our students, but other modes of education as well?

Thank you for your time, consideration, and continued inspiration.
Barbara

*Barbara Cottrell Trippeer*


Adjunct Instructor

Fashion Department

College of Visual Arts and Design

University of North Texas

MFA
Innovation Studies/ Applied Design Research
UNT College of Visual Art + Design (CVAD)

art.unt.edu/designresearchce <http://art.unt.edu/designresearchcenter/>nter
<http://art.unt.edu/designresearchcenter/>

art.unt.edu

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On Fri, Feb 5, 2016 at 10:39 AM, Terence Love <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hi Eduardo,
>
> Thanks for asking.  You wrote ' Which side are you in?' One can have a
> position on this that is not one side or another.
>
> Personally, my interest is in creating a better world with better equality
> and more equal access to resources, justice, grace and the good times, and
> at the same time better protection of the world's resources for our
> children and their children and beyond.
>
> Designers play a big role in this. It’s a role that is often bigger than
> individuals or design teams.  It’s a role that has many contradictions. For
> example, designers who make things really attractive to the point that they
> define one's identity and value make it very difficult for poor people who
> will often have to become criminals to satisfy the desires inculcated in
> them by emotionally attractive design and powerful advertising.
>
> The role of designers is often such that designers are buried in routine
> detail design decision making and tasks. Design schools spend a large
> proportion of time teaching students to use software. This  indicates there
> is opportunity to automate much of the detail of that design decision
> making through a design software interface at a higher level of
> abstraction. Gunnar indicated this higher level of interaction when he
> commented the information he wanted was in the realm of increase the 'cool'
> by a third and double the informality (or something similar!).
>
> The big practical issue for creating a better more egalitarian and
> sustainable world is that designs have many effects in the  world (good and
> bad and changing over time).
>
> It would be wonderful if designers could know in advance for each design
> they thought up whether it would make the world a better or worse place,
> now and for our children.
>
> In practical terms, that  is too much to ask any individual designer. It's
> also much more than can be asked of a design team or stakeholder group. The
> number of possible effects and their relationships is too complicated and
> complex
>
> It is however something that even now can be included in design software.
> For nearly two decades we have had environmental information in product
> design software that can tell the designer whether particular product ideas
> are better or worse environmentally. Similar architectural design software
> is available.
>
> A benefit is reductions in design team size with attendant increase in
> flexibility, improvement in quality and a better entrepreneurial milieu.
>
> In most cases, better design software with increased levels of design
> automation reduces transaction costs (in a Coasian sense) for smaller
> design businesses whilst the diseconomies of scale hamper larger design
> businesses. In addition, the use of computer systems also reduces to some
> extent the economic bias  of location. Together  these offer the
> possibility for increased egalitarianism, e.g. through less privileged
> designers and design businesses to play an a slightly more level playing
> field.
>
> I could go on but I'll stop there
>
> Best wishes,
> Terry
>
> ---
> Dr Terence Love
> Love Services Pty Ltd
> PO Box 226, Quinns Rocks
> Western Australia 6030
> Tel: +61 (0)4 3497 5848
> [log in to unmask]
> www.loveservices.com.au
> --
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:
> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Eduardo corte-real
> Sent: Friday, 5 February 2016 9:31 PM
> To: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related
> research in Design <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Simon's glory
>
> Terry,
> You wrote:  "the consequences are visible by the reductions in numbers of
> designers needed by companies (remember the shift from 200 person design
> teams to 20 persons to 5?)”
> Is this a good thing?
> Which side are you in?
> Best,
> Eduardo
>
>
> > No dia 05/02/2016, às 12:39, Terence Love <[log in to unmask]> escreveu:
> >
> >  the consequences are visible by the reductions in numbers of
> > designers needed by companies (remember the shift from 200 person
> > design teams to 20 persons to 5?)
>
>
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