Gunnar Swanson wrote:
Are you implying that design is something done or described in words?
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Dear Gunnar,
No, not at all. I am stating, however, that planning is a mental
process. Since Ben gave planning to tie his shoelaces as an example
of something that lay outside design, I thought I'd pose this problem
to demonstrate that an explicit plan to tie shoelaces is not a
trivial problem, but a difficult challenge. It occurred to me because
I've used it in other circumstances.
Most design processes involve many kinds of activities. It is
certainly easier and far more effective to represent HOW to tie
shoelaces with a combination of images and words.
In this case, I wanted to draw attention to the planning process.
Many forms of design and planning are done in words and described in
words. This is the case for many series of action steps. I use this
as a case to show just how difficult it can be to create an
articulate, explicit plan. This form of design process can be
described in words if it is not too difficult. In this case, I offer
an example of something seemingly trivial that moves from everyday
habit to challenging design process by asking for an articulate
description.
Yours,
Ken
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