ScienceDirect – Design Studies : Designing as disclosure

This conception of designing as disclosure is important (over other disclosure-based conceptions) specifically because: it locates the utility of design squarely in the process of designing, opening important new opportunities for design practice as an analytical tool; it is situated in the project (rather than design practice more generally), a necessary first move if new forms of knowledge central (arguably) to the creative design process are to become established; and it is explicitly experiential, changing the path of learning design from a constructivist one to a phenomenographic one to a reconstituting of the already constituted (student designerￕs) world[24].

Taking a step backwards from the previous discussion, I attempted to get everyone engaged in answering the who, why, what, where and how as a starting point to frame the objective of this project. The outcome is expected to formulate a rich, complex brief that can still emcompass everyone’s own explorations for their masters.

I think, for me, the happy moment was when we clarified the ‘who’ and specifying the audiences, the rest seemed to flow on from there. I know this was expected, but it was good to observe it too.
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Why is talking about solutions and aesthetics so interesting?
Who are our audience, and how do we know how appropriate the artefacts are?
Are the audience specific or general?
How much is this an assumption?
How does my topic align with everyone elses? What is the point of difference? Where can it compliment/aid our objective?
What am I trying to explore?
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1. What paragraph / sentence resonated or informed your masters topic?

2. In this chapter, postmodernism is critiqued as a graphic style that
has an “application of consumer culture to political themes”. How do
you think this has affected the way people (audience) read or react,
respond to such messages? Does this blurring lead to confusion or
clarity?

3. “Communication for a visual elite at the expense of a broader public
discourse” (p161). How many pieces of work presented in this chapter
(or the whole book) could this refer to? Extending this thought further
– are there any examples you can think of where designers had
successfully initiated a public discourse or social comment through
their designs?

4. I found the final paragraph of this chapter quite disheartening, and
to me, exposed Poynor’s pessimistic and simplistic view of the role of
graphic design in society. How do you respond to the 3 questions he
poses, and what would you say to him that might make him think
otherwise?