Dear all,

I am an admirer of the review Bryan Lawson (2005) presented in his book
"How Designers Think: The Design Process Demystified"; in it, the author
addresses most questions that arose in this thread. The author summarises
the core activities of designing as a sequence of four distinct phases:
Briefing, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation.

These activities form an entirely reasonable description of a general
design process, as long as it is not taken as a sequence of distinct
activities that take place in a predictable (and logical) order. The
fragmentation of the design process from whole to distinct parts is
inconsistent with what we know about design practice, and therefore is
problematic as a potential teaching tool. Like Swanson asked

"Okay. But I’m a dumb pragmatist. While that might be a good description,
how does it aid someone who wants to design, to learn to design, or to
teach someone how to become a designer?"

Having had both a considerable experience in tutoring students in the
design studio and also of reading about design methods/models of the design
process I have a hard time bridging the two, in other words, I have yet to
find a model of the design process that can be universally applied to any
design project. Other than a general description of a sequence of general
activities that students have a hard time operationalising.

For instance, even something as straightforward as the briefing, when
considered in practice, suddenly becomes less clear, as Lawson (2004)
observed the “briefing is now generally regarded as a continuous process
rather than one which takes place exclusively at the start of the project.”
(p.13).

Additionally, while models of the design process vary, the notion that
there is a stage of analysis that concerns the rational consideration and
definition of a problem that precedes (and is separate) from a synthesis
stage which concerns the creative endeavour of coming up with a solution is
at odds with what is known about professional design activity from
experienced designers. In other words, the neat distinction between problem
and solution (and corresponding analysis and synthesis stages) disappears
in the context of professional design work. In fact, the problem is shaped
as the solution emerges and is tested, that is, problem and solution
co-evolve. The co-evolution of problem and solution means that instead of
attempting to define or understand the problem fully (the analysis phase)
before making solution attempts (the synthesis phase) expert designers
“move rapidly to early solution conjectures, and use these conjectures as a
way of exploring and defining problem-and-solution together.” (Cross, 2004,
p.431)

As a conclusion to his studies on the design process, Lawson proposed a
descriptive model where the process should be understood as a negotiation
between problem and solution, where the activities of analysis, synthesis,
and evaluation are involved but without an indication of neither a starting
nor a finishing point, nor yet any establishment of direction of flow (such
as return loops) from one activity to the other.

Therefore, an accurate (if messy) description of designing is that the
activities of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation occur in an unpredictable
number of short-cycles until a deadline looms and a design is detailed and
delivered. Usually, but not always, a prototype is then tested and the
responsible design team hopes that everything works according to plan. If
it doesn’t, the short-cycles begin again, this time with increased levels
of stress and caffeine intake.

I'm not sure if this is a good design method, but it's certainly an
accurate description of how designing unfolds.


Cross, N. (2004). Expertise in design: An overview. Design Studies, 25(5),
427–441.

Lawson, B. (2004). What Designers Know. Oxford: Architectural Press.

Lawson, B. (2005). How Designers Think: The Design Process Demystified.
Amsterdam: Elsevier.



João Ferreira
REDES - Research & Education in Design
Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Arquitetura, CIAUD

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