Can We Define Design? Analyzing Twenty Years of Debate on a Large Email Discussion List

Blackler, Alethea; Swann, Levi; Chamorro‐Koc, Marianella; Mohotti, Wathsala Anupama; Balasubramaniam, Thirunavukarasu; Nayak, Richi

doi:10.1016/j.sheji.2020.11.004

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Flusser’s slipstream, his version of speculative fiction, corresponds with the newer debates in design fiction and speculative design. Speculative design, according to Dunne and Raby (2013) in their Speculative Everything , defines design as ‘forms of futurology’, including ‘what-if scenarios’ (Blackler et al, 2021). Part of such design is diffusion, possibly deception, to conjure up what could be.…”

Section: From Speculative Fiction To Speculative Design2mentioning

confidence: 99%

Vilém Flusser’s What If? On Designing Radical Futures

Finger¹

2023

Theory, Culture & Society

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While Vilém Flusser’s writings on (media) philosophy and communication have found a wide readership across the globe, another ‘Flusser’ has been present all along, interwoven perhaps, namely that of the ‘obsessive futurologist’. Flusser, the futurologist, does not only imagine or predict media-technological universes unfolding with, among, and for us, but he, in his insistence that ‘communication is anthropology’, also imagines scenarios of possible worlds to come. In his little-known book Angenommen: Eine Szenenfolge (1989), available in English translation as What If? Twenty-Two Scenarios in Search of Images (2023), he designs sketches of an Anthropocene fraught with nightmares and wonders. What If? offers insight into the radical futures of a slipstream Anthropocene that have to do with speculative design, with Flusser’s concept of design as ‘crafty’ or slippery, and with art and the immense creative potential of failure versus reasonable, ‘good’ computing or calculability.

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Section: From Speculative Fiction To Speculative Design2mentioning

confidence: 99%

Vilém Flusser’s What If? On Designing Radical Futures

Finger¹

2023

Theory, Culture & Society

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“…The meanings of the terms 'design' and 'designing' and 'designer' -so important to so many people's sense of who they arehave been the subject of decades of repetitive and seemingly endless debate (see Blackler et al, 2021). Can we end it, or focus it on a productive direction?…”

Section: Introduction: the Word 'Design' And The Goals Of Design Rese...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Design process of live-action video instructions

Eriksson,

Skagert,

Ekwall

2023

Expanding the Frontiers of Design

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“…In the theoretical landscape of design research, researchers have often viewed the design concept as either a noun or verb (Gemser and Barczak, 2020; Blackler et al , 2021; Steinitz, 1995). Some scholars – especially those from the marketing tradition – have tended to assume design is a noun and, therefore, have explored the characteristics of new products as a “bundle of attributes” (Noble, 2011, p. 391).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are product design researchers and practitioners on the same page? The way professional product designers view creative design

Sameti

Koslow

Mashhady

2022

JPBM

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Purpose This paper aims to explore professional product designers’ views on creative design and to compare their viewpoints with the related academic literature on product marketing. Design/methodology/approach To find the designers’ views on creative design, face-to-face in-depth interviews based on repertory grid analysis and semi-structured questions were conducted with 32 professional and award-wining product designers who mostly design for international producers. Findings Although marketing scholars often approach design as a noun – something that can be viewed and analysed as a bundle of attributes, dimensions or characteristics – professional designers view design differently. To them, design is a verb, a problem-solving process through which they meet the challenges consumers have with products. Comparing professional product designers’ views on design creativity with the main topics in the product marketing literature places scholars’ dispositionalism against designers’ situationalism; it also enables marketing scholars to improve their viewpoints on product design and to bring practical problem-solving and design thinking into their research. This also increases mutual understanding between marketers and designers. Research limitations/implications This research enhances the knowledge of marketing scholars, marketers and designers about each other’s perspectives on product design creativity, which will improve their mutual understanding and the business-to-business relationship between marketers and designers. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first study that has attempted to discover product designers’ opinions on the main topics in the related academic literature.

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Can We Define Design? Analyzing Twenty Years of Debate on a Large Email Discussion List

Cited by 7 publications

References 17 publications

Vilém Flusser’s What If? On Designing Radical Futures

Vilém Flusser’s What If? On Designing Radical Futures

Design process of live-action video instructions

Are product design researchers and practitioners on the same page? The way professional product designers view creative design

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