« what this research is about... | Main | what do I want to know? »

another wobbly dart...

I want to describe an alternative view of what we, as designers, do.

I want to describe a transformative activity, a focused activity, which occurs when designers work with other parties to achieve outcomes. I think that this might be a different way to describe this activity... which may then lead to a different way to value the activity of design, and teach the activity of design.

Here goes...

When designer and "others" get together to work on a project something happens. I have described this previously as 'a conversation'. In saying that I am trying to say that the outcome of the design activity is a 'made conversation' or a 'conversation materialised'. What I mean by this is that the parties present in the design activity and active in the intention of the activity, the motivation of the activity and all the different experiences and personalities present and active in the activity are in some way 'speaking'. And as the transformative action of the designing activity unrolls they are 'speaking' out the new form. 'Speaking' that which was not already in existence. 'Bringing into being'... and in that 'bringing into being' they materialise that which was not said before, and they articulate 'that which cannot be said through spoken language' in this way design allows access to 'knowledge' 'knowledge' that we don't know we know. 'knowledge' that is ineffable and cannot be articulated in other ways... design allows an articulation of this knowledge, through its connection with 'externalising of the internal', it brings into being a group reflexive device which we can all gaze into and say 'so that is what we are'.

art does this through the activity of the one and is, in this way, somewhat of a monologue, though it too is ineffable (this, as you might have gathered, is my new word)....

design is with the other...