Type:

Year:

Editor:

Author:

Jackson, Asa; Lee, Henry

Series:

Institution:

Page(s):

DOI number:

ISBN:

ISSN:

Abstract:

Design models have been a foundational method to properly understand design praxis and theory, while also perpetuating priorities and knowledge for the discipline. These models, both visual and verbal in nature, embody design values and serve as an important medium for collaboration and setting expectations among designers and non-designers. Indeed, designers of all experience levels use these models to understand and enact the design process. This study assesses the visual and verbal characteristics of 38 design process models to better understand the projection of traditional pragmatism versus more reflexive elements in design process dissemination. The findings of this study demonstrate that there is a myopic history of prevailing design models, even amidst the presence of evolving methodological and theoretical exploration within the design discipline. This is indicated through pragmatic language, single-outcome orientations, and narrow perspectives on the design process. Through this study it is revealed that prevailing design models contain verbal patterns and visual cues that focus primarily on pragmatic processes and outcomes and generally omit reflexive and pluralistic practices that could place the designer amidst their work, their users, and the larger development of designed knowledge. Here, researchers suggest creating and testing alternative models that challenge existing model structures and languages in favour of more contemporary paradigms, such as reflexive practice and pluriversal design. This research also prompts further inquiry into model usage in education and practice, including their function, development, and interpretation in the academic space for design students.

Keywords: