The Elusive Character of Design Ideas

Abstract

During design processes, interim results, i.e. ideas, are imagined, elaborated and shared in an on-going reflective creative conversation. One can argue that designers have an educational role in building a shared understanding with clients and other stakeholders, across disciplines of what the design is and why it is what it is. Especially in the context of trans-disciplinary collaboration, it is essential to reflect on what it means to collect and capture ‘the whole story’, i.e. not just the designed object, but also the context and the choices made in terms of what is of importance or essential for a resulting design.

Building such a shared understanding consists of the three following steps:

• 1. Inventorizing and building an understanding of the system

• 2. A prioritization of what is of essence, what is of importance,

• 3. Defining a direction for seeking solutions.

We call this ‘information set’ (understanding, essence and direction) the Design Vision. Related to this view, we explore media used to depict or articulate such a vision. It will be argued that the choice of representation (text, metaphor, sketch, etc.) is highly influential on the richness and usefulness of the collected information and the following creative process.