Design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process, or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product or process. The verb to design expresses the process of developing a design. In some cases, the direct construction of an object without an explicit prior plan (such as in craftwork, some engineering, coding, and graphic design) may also be considered to be a design activity. The design usually has to satisfy certain goals and constraints, may take into account aesthetic, functional, economic, or socio-political considerations, and is expected to interact with a certain environment. Typical examples of designs include architectural blueprints, engineering drawings, business processes, circuit diagrams, and sewing patterns.[1]
People who produce designs are called designers. The term "designer" generally refers to someone who works professionally in one of the various design areas. The word is generally qualified by the area involved (so one can speak of a fashion designer, a product designer, a web designer or an interior designer), but can also designate others such as architects and engineers. A designer's sequence of activities is called a design process, possibly using design methods. The process of creating a design can be brief (a quick sketch) or lengthy and complicated, involving considerable research, negotiation, reflection, modeling, interactive adjustment and re-design.
Substantial disagreement exists concerning how designers in many fields, whether amateur or professional, alone or in teams, produce designs.[2] Kees Dorst and Judith Dijkhuis, both designers themselves, argued that "there are many ways of describing design processes" and discussed "two basic and fundamentally different ways",[3] both of which have several names. The prevailing view has been called "the rational model",[4] "technical problem solving"[5] and "the reason-centric perspective".[6] The alternative view has been called "reflection-in-action",[5] "co-evolution",[7] and "the action-centric perspective".[6]
The rational model was independently developed by Herbert A. Simon,[8][9] an American scientist, and two German engineering design theorists, Gerhard Pahl and Wolfgang Beitz.[10] It posits that:
The rational model is based on a rationalist philosophy[4] and underlies the waterfall model,[11] systems development life cycle,[12] and much of the engineering design literature.[13] According to the rationalist philosophy, design is informed by research and knowledge in a predictable and controlled manner.
The action-centric perspective is a label given to a collection of interrelated concepts, which are antithetical to the rational model.[6] It posits that:
