Problem And Design Problem

2152 Words5 Pages

Introduction
Within the discourse of design, it can be said that there exists a significant difference between what is referred to as the problem-as-given and the problem-as-design-goal. The latter delineates the designer’s personal ‘problematization’ of the design brief that has been given, in a manner that informs both the design activity and the final outcome, in ways that are not dictated by the brief itself. A further argument can be made that this tendency of problematizing of the design brief supports the claim that design is more than a simple problem solving activity, and that it is almost inevitable that the designer adds significant personal input into their design. Therefore, it should be recognized that the final outcome of a design problem will inexorably go beyond the initial brief (i.e. problem-as-given), and the individual designer determines the extent to which this occurs. This essay will therefore explore the issues that put emphasis on design as a personally-conditioned process whereby the solution that is developed will more often expectedly go beyond the criteria and expectations of the initial problem-as-given.

Design: Beyond problem solving
Although it is widely accepted that the act of designing involves a significant amount of problem solving activity, it should be acknowledged that the role of the designer goes well beyond that of merely applying his or her own skills and knowledge to the design problem. The ‘problem solving’ paradigm, which was introduced in the 1960’s, has successfully made a great impact on the world, as it enabled the ‘systemization of existing design process models, tools, methods and techniques, and helped to link them to models of problem solving in fields outside of design’ (Do...

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...nclusive throughout this essay, is that the individual designer’s tendency to ‘problematize’ the problem-as-given has caused for the focus of the design activity to be informed in such a way that is not necessarily delineated by the initial design brief, therefore generating a developmental process of designing that exceeds the simple task of solving the problem presented. Through this process, the designer adds significant personal input, and in doing so, develops an additional set of standards determined by what they believe are crucial determinants to the success of the design. Therefore it can be concluded that the act of designing involves great commitment on the behalf of the designer, in order to develop a solution that not only fulfills the initial needs, but shows the personal codifications of the designer’s ‘designerliness’ imbedded into the final outcome.

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