Dear all,
I have written a small essay on the matter of design work in relation to
cognitive abilities and cognitive styles, trying to tangle out things like
talent for design. In that essay you can find some references to relevant
literature.
In design research, the term 'design ability' has been used by Nigel Cross
and others to describe what designers need to have to be able to handle in
order to do their job. In my essay I argue that it has been too loosely
used and that some order is needed, so that the research community knows
what is meant by the term. The essay tries to tangle out the concept of
design ability in the light of factor-analytic studies on cognitive
abilities. I propose in the essay that it is more rewarding to talk about
a designerly way of thinking, as a set of cognitive styles that designers
prefer to utilize, since the nature of their work is constituted the way
it is. I also suggest some consequences for design education.
Arvola, M. (2002). Reflections on the Concept of Design Ability: Telling
Apples from Pears. Unpublished term paper in Cognition, Learning, and IT,
2002. http://www.ida.liu.se/~matar/design-ability.pdf
Cheers,
// Mattias Arvola
(Greetings from a snowy Gällivare in Lapland, Sweden)
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