Design discourse and discourse design
reflections on "conveyence matter"
pp. 102-105
in: Roy Ascott, Gerald Bast, Wolfgang Fiel, Margarete Jahrmann, Ruth Schnell (eds), New realities, Berlin, Springer, 2009Abstract
The traditional distinctions between theory and practice, as well as the differentiations among the applied (angewandte), practical, and theoretical, are questionable and fuzzy when viewed against the backdrop of the evolution of applied arts discourse (design discourse) during the 20th, and at the beginning of the 21st century. The same can be said of the tradition of science and design, for example, design models for theories could also be framed as discourse design in science. If we compare these models with current design discourse, we can follow design discourse as a science of design, that body of work which attempts to improve our understanding of "scientific" design methods of investigation, or a design science, an explicitly organised, rational and wholly systematic approach to design, or even a science of design, that is, a systematic collection of accounts of successful design practices, design methods, and their lessons (Nigel Cross 2001: 51,52). But within the context of a comparative analysis of discourse design and design itself, the distinctions become quite fuzzy.