Design methods: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Set of procedures, techniques, aids, or tools for designing}}

'''Design methods''' are procedures, techniques, aids, or tools for designing. They offer a number of different kinds of activities that a designer might use within an overall design process. Conventional procedures of design, such as drawing, can be regarded as design methods, but since the 1950s new procedures have been developed that are more usually grouped together under the name of "design methods". What design methods have in common is that they "are attempts to make public the hitherto private thinking of designers; to ''externalise'' the design process".<ref name="Jones Design Methods">{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=J. Christopher |title=Design Methods |url=https://archive.org/details/ilmontanarodelg00castgoog |date=1980 |publisher=Wiley |___location=UK}}</ref>

''Design methodology'' is the broader study of method in design: the study of the principles, practices and procedures of designing.<ref name="Cross Methodology">{{cite book |last1=Cross |first1=Nigel |title=Developments in Design Methodology |date=1984 |publisher=Wiley |___location=UK |isbn=978-0471102489}}</ref>

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==Methods and processes==

The development of design methods has been closely associated with prescriptions for a systematic process of designing. These process models usually comprise a number of phases or stages, beginning with a statement or recognition of a problem or a need for a new design and culminating in a finalised solution proposal. In his 'Systematic Method for Designers' [[L. Bruce Archer]] produced a very elaborate, 229 step model of a systematic design process for industrial design,<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.dubberly.com/concept-maps/archers-design-process.html | title=Bruce Archer's Design Process Checklist}}</ref> but also a summary model consisting of three phases: Analytical phase (programming and data collection, analysis), Creative phase (synthesis, development), and Executive phase (communication). The UK's [[Design Council]] modelscreated the [[Double Diamond (design process model)]], which breaks the creative design process ininto four phases: Discover (insight into the problem), Define (the area to focus upon), Develop (potential solutions), and Deliver (solutions that work).<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/design-process-what-double-diamond | title=The Design Process: What is the Double Diamond?| date=2015-03-17}}</ref> A systematic model for engineering design by Pahl and Beitz has phases of Clarification of the task, Conceptual design, Embodiment design, and Detail design.<ref>Pahl, G. and W. Beitz (1984) ''Engineering Design: a systematic approach'', Springer/Design Council, UK.</ref> A less prescriptive approach to designing a basic design process for oneself has been outlined by [[John Christopher Jones|J. Christopher Jones]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=J. Christopher|title=design methods for everyone |url=http://publicwriting.net/2.2/designmethodsforeveryone.html|website=publicwriting.net |access-date=21 December 2018}}</ref>

In the [[engineering design process]] systematic models tend to be linear, in sequential steps, but acknowledging the necessity of iteration. In architectural design, process models tend to be cyclical and spiral, with iteration as essential to progression towards a final design. In industrial and product design, process models tend to comprise a sequence of stages of divergent and convergent thinking. The Dubberly Design Office has compiled examples of more than 80 design process models,<ref>Dubberly, H. (2004) ''How do you design: a compendium of models''. Dubberly Design Office, San Francisco, USA. http://www.dubberly.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/ddo_designprocess.pdf</ref> but it is not an exhaustive list.

Within these process models there are, numerous design methods that can be applied. In his book of 'Design Methods' [[John Christopher Jones|J. C. Jones]] grouped 26 methods according to their purposes within a design process: Methods of exploring design situations (e.g. Stating Objectives, Investigating User Behaviour, Interviewing Users), Methods of searching for ideas (e.g. Brainstorming, Synectics, Morphological Charts), Methods of exploring problem structure (e.g. Interaction Matrix, Functional Innovation, Information Sorting), Methods of evaluation (e.g. Checklists, Ranking and Weighting).<ref>Jones, J. C. (1970) ''Design Methods: seeds of human futures''. Wiley, UK.</ref>

[[Nigel Cross]] outlined eight stages in a process of engineering product design, each with an associated method: Identifying Opportunities - User Scenarios; Clarifying Objectives - Objectives Tree; Establishing Functions - Function Analysis; Setting Requirements - Performance Specification; Determining Characteristics - Quality Function Deployment; Generating Alternatives - Morphological Chart; Evaluating Alternatives - Weighted Objectives; Improving Details - Value Engineering.<ref>Cross, N. (2008) ''Engineering Design Methods: Strategies for Product Design''. Wiley, UK.</ref>

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Several pioneers of design methods developed their work in association with industry. The [[Ulm School of Design|Ulm school]] established a significant partnership with the German consumer products company [[Braun (company)|Braun]] through their designer [[Dieter Rams]]. [[John Christopher Jones|J. Christopher Jones]] began his approach to systematic design as an ergonomist at the electrical engineering company [[Associated Electrical Industries|AEI]]. [[L. Bruce Archer]] developed his systematic approach in projects for medical equipment for the UK National Health Service.

In the USA, designer [[Henry Dreyfuss]] had a profound impact on the practice of industrial design by developing systematic processes and promoting the use of [[anthropometrics]], [[ergonomics]] and [[human factors]] in design, including through his 1955 book 'Designing for People'.<ref>Dreyfuss, Henry. ''Designing for People''. Allworth Press; 2003. {{ISBN|1-58115-312-0}}</ref> Another successful designer, [[Jay Doblin]], was also influential on the theory and practice of design as a systematic process.<ref>https://www.doblin.com/dist/images/uploads/A-Short-Grandiose-Theory-of-Design-J.-Doblin.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818022033/https://doblin.com/dist/images/uploads/A-Short-Grandiose-Theory-of-Design-J.-Doblin.pdf |date=2022-08-18 }} {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

Much of current design practice has been influenced and guided by design methods. For example, the influential [[IDEO]] consultancy uses design methods extensively in its 'Design Kit' and 'Method Cards'.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.designkit.org//resources/1 | title=Design Kit | access-date=2018-12-20 | archive-date=2022-05-23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523084621/https://www.designkit.org/resources/1 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.ideo.com/post/method-cards | title=Method Cards}}</ref> Increasingly, the intersections of design methods with business and government through the application of [[design thinking]] have been championed by numerous consultancies within the design profession. Wide influence has also come through [[Christopher Alexander]]'s [[pattern language]] method,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Alexander |display-authors=et al |first1=Christopher |title=A Pattern Language |date=1977 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-501919-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/patternlanguage00chri }}</ref> originally developed for architectural and urban design, which has been adopted in [[software design patterns|software design]], [[interaction design pattern|interaction design]], [[Pedagogical patterns|pedagogical design]] and other domains.

==See also==