More Teaching Design
William Oakes
Crismond (2007) draws from many sources
in his definition of design as “’goaldirected problem-solving activity’ (Archer, 1965)
that initiates change in human-made
things (Jones, 1992), and involves optimizing
parameters (Matchett, 1968) and the balancing of
trade-offs (AAAS, 2001) to meet targeted users
needs (Gregory, 1966).”
Source: Crismond, D. (2007). Contrasting strategies of beginning and
informed designers: One representation of learning progressions in
engineering design.
EPICS Balance
Service-learning is a balance of the
learning of design and the service we
contribute the communities through
completed designs and support
Service
Learning
•To our partners,
meeting needs in
the community
•Becoming good
designers, professionals
& active citizens
Complimentary goals that enhance each other
The EPICS Design Cycle
Problem Identification
Specification
Development
Redesign
Retirement
Conceptual
Design
Disposal
Detailed
Design
Service
Maintenance
Production
Why is design difficult?
Engages different types of thinking
Requires designers to manage so many
ideas and aspects
Addresses different types of problems
Different Problem Types
Logical
Story
DecisionMaking
Algorithmic
Using
Well-defined
More abstract context
Single, correct answer
Information Provided
Rule-
Diagnosis-
Design
Solution
Trouble-Case
shooting
Analysis
Ill-structured
Real-world
Multiple
solutions
Constrained
Many unknowns
Source: Jonassen (2000). Toward a Design Theory of Problem Solving.
Nature of Design
Sciences
Humanities
Design
Phenomenon
of study
The natural
world
Human experience
The artificial
world
Method of
inquiry
Controlled
experiment,
classification,
analysis
Analogy, metaphor,
evaluation
Modelling,
patternformation,
synthesis
Values
Objectivity,
rationality,
neutrality, and
a concern for
‘truth’
Subjectivity,
imagination,
commitment, and a
concern for ‘justice’
Practicality,
ingenuity,
empathy, and a
concern for
‘appropriateness’
Cross, N. (2006). Designerly Ways of Knowing. London: Springer-Verlag.
Developing Design Expertise
Expert
Novice
Characteristics of Designers
Good designers have the ability to:
Tolerate ambiguity that shows up
in viewing design as inquiry or as
an iterative loop of divergentconvergent thinking
Maintain sight of the big picture by
including systems thinking and
systems design
Handle uncertainty
Dym, Agogino, Eris, Frey, and Leifer (2005)
Characteristics of Designers
Good designers have the ability to:
Make decisions
Think as part of a team in a
social process
Think and communicate in the
several languages of design
Dym, Agogino, Eris, Frey, and Leifer (2005)
Designer’s challenge: Not exhibiting the
“Novice concepts of design”
Newstetter and McCracken (2001, p. 6768) list five, but I would like to challenge
you on three of them!
Design arrogance – Students do not
place their designs in the context of the
environment in which the design will
reside. The “arrogantly” ignore the
constraints of the user (whether that is a
machine or a person). They often
design for themselves.
Designer’s challenge: Not exhibiting the
“Novice concepts of design”, cont.
Design shutdown – Students tend to focus
on single point solutions to problems once
beyond the ideation stage. In other words,
once they have an idea, they stop considering
alternative and focus all their energy on that
one solution regardless of its feasibility.
Design routinization – Students act as
though designing is a serial/linear process.
The way they deal with design problems
resembles the linear parsing of the algebra
problem. Iteration, revisiting past decisions
and evaluating alternatives is not in their
process model.
I. Explore the Challenge
Contrasting
Strategies Title
What Beginning
Designers Do
What Informed
Designers Do
Tools
Premature / Delayed
Decision Making
Treat design as wellstructured and make
premature design
decisions
Delay making
decisions in order to
explore challenge,
learn about critical
issues
Functional
descriptions,
Problem Scoping
Skip / Do Research
& Info Searches
Skip doing research and
information searched,
and instead start
generating design
solutions immediately.
Do research and
information searched
about the problem,
includeing materials,
prior art, users,
product histories, etc.
Studying prior art,
Product history
and analysis,
Researching
users
Confounded/ Valid
Investigations
Do few early
investigations or conduct
confounded tests that
build little understanding
of the design problem.
Do valid investigations
to help them learn
quickly about design
variables, users,
materials, & how
things work.
Product
dissections,
Product
comparisons
Source: Crismond, D. (2007). Contrasting strategies of beginning and informed
designers: One representation of learning progressions in engineering design.
II. Generate, Build & Communicate Ideas
Contrasting
Strategies Title
What Beginning
Designers Do
What Informed
Designers Do
Tools
Idea Fixation /
Idea Fluency
Fixate on first design
ideas, which they
won’t let go of, and
work depth-first in
developing a single
plan.
Practice idea fluency via
brainstorming, sketching,
and rapid prototyping,
and use gestures, words,
& artifacts to
communicate these ideas
Brainstorming,
Constraint Relaxation
& “Dream Designing”,
Database Searches,
Rapid Prototyping,
Task Sequencing
Surface / Deep
Drawing &
Modeling
Describe & sketch
surface features of
device that would not
work if built.
Make drawings and
models that show how
parts connect and
interact well, and models
that test key features.
Alternate Sequencing
for Sketching,
Discussions &
Annotated Sketches,
Gestures and Artifacts
as Stand-ins for
Drawings
Unfocused /
Diagnostic Vision
Have a generalized
unfocused way of
viewing tests and
troubleshooting their
ideas.
Use diagnostic vision to
focus their attention while
troubleshoot critical areas
of the design plans and
products.
Cognitive Training,
Teaching Modeling &
Coaching
Source: Crismond, D. (2007). Contrasting strategies of beginning and informed
designers: One representation of learning progressions in engineering design.
III. Test & Evaluate Solutions, Reflect on Practice
Contrasting
Strategies Title
What Beginning
Designers Do
What Informed
Designers Do
Tools
Ignore / Balance
Benefits &
Tradeoffs in
Making Decisions
Ignore or pay too much
attention to constraints
and focus on + or –
aspects of ideas
without also thinking of
benefits and tradeoffs.
Balance systems of
benefits and tradeoffs
when making design
decisions, and use
guidelines and rules-ofthumb to make these
choices.
Design decision charts,
Design Guidelines,
Heuristics & Rules-ofThumb
Haphazard, Linear
/
Iterative,
Managed Design
Design in a haphazard
ways, working on
whatever problems
emerge, or treat design
as a set of steps to be
done once in linear
order.
Do design as an iterative
process, improving ideas
based on feedback, and
use strategies in any
order, as needed, in a
managed way.
Project & Time
Management, Design
Process Knowledge
and Support
Tacit / Reflective
Thinking*
Do tacit designing
when they think with
little self-reflection &
monitoring of actions.
Practice reflective thinking
by keeping tabs on design
work in a metacognitive
way.
Design Notebooks and
Portfolios, Computersupported structured
reflections
Source: Crismond, D. (2007). Contrasting strategies of beginning and informed
designers: One representation of learning progressions in engineering design.
*Self-monitoring is associated with higher levels of design performance and product
quality (Adams & Atman, 2000).
Activity
What are places to integrate
development of good designers into the
high school curriculum?
o How can EPICS be a leverage point?
Communication is key to successful
design!!
o With community partner
o With each other
o With the artifact that you are designing
Design Review Templates
Good design…
 Good designs involve diverse perspectives
and expertise
 IDEO – industry leader in design and
innovation
o Design thinking is a crucial business asset—one
that can, indeed, move a company forward and
improve the bottom line. To optimize this impact,
(we) advise thoughtfully structuring the innovation
process. They stress working on projects that
improve people’s lives..
- Ryan Jacoby and Diego Rodriguez, Innovation, Growth, and Getting to
Where You Want to Go, Design Management Review Vol. 18 No. 1
Sustainability in design
Name as many “resources” as you
can
Renewable Resources
living resources (trees and soil)
hydroelectric power, solar power, wind
water
Non-Renewable Resources
coal,
oil
natural gas
why sustainability?
Designing for increasingly limited and
expensive resources:
• water
• nonrenewable materials
The Triple Bottom Line
 Traditional bottom line is economic
 Consider two other bottom lines:
o Social costs and benefits
o Environmental costs and benefits
tools for thinking design: footprint
Year
tools for thinking design:
footprint
tools for thinking design:
footprint
What goes into your energy footprint
today?
lighting: wattage, hours on, heat loss
heating: hours on, temperature change
food: growing, transportation, packaging,
storage, cooking, disposal
self care: water transportation, heating,
treatment; cleaning products production,
transportation, treatment
tools for thinking design:
footprint
What goes into your energy footprint
today?
tool use:
o food preparation: tool construction,
transportation, cleaning, disposal
o clothing: material production, construction,
transportation, cleaning, disposal
o entertainment: production energy costs
etc., energy during use
o transportation: material production,
construction, transportation, use, disposal
tools for thinking design:
footprint
What goes into your energy footprint over your life?
big choices as well as little
 Will you live close to or far from work and family?
 How often will you travel by car, train, or plane?
 Where will you stay when you travel?
 How many kids will you have?
 What appliances will you buy for your home? - energy
and resource efficient? or cheaper now? made locally or
shipped from another country?
why sustainability?
Engineering is “optimization under
constraints”
Good design now requires life-cycle
consideration
“cradle to cradle” design
McDonough & Braungart 2002
(www.mcdonough.com)
case study: cradle to cradle
Interface Carpet
w.interfacesustainability.com/
tools for thinking: systems design
supplier
producer
processing
plant
distribution
center
grocery
store
tools for thinking: systems design
seeds
pesticides
food waste
processing
plant
producer
supplier
packaging
distributio
n center
truck
truck
truck
machinery
machinery
machinery
fertilizers
freezer
grocery
store
truck
freezer
freezer
tools for thinking: systems design
seeds
pesticides
food waste
processing
plant
producer
supplier
packaging
distribution
center
truck
truck
truck
machinery
machinery
machinery
fertilizers
freezer
grocery
store
truck
freezer
freezer
tools for thinking: systems design
irrigation
fossil fuels
seeds
fossil fuels
food waste
packaging
pesticides
processing
plant
producer
supplier
distributio
n center
truck
truck
truck
machinery
machinery
machinery
fertilizers
fossil fuels
renewable
energy
freezer
fossil fuels
grocery
store
truck
freezer
freezer
hydroflurocarbons
3
tools for thinking: systems design
cover crops
seeds
compost
supplier
producer
renewable
energy
farmer’s
market
truck
truck
machinery
fossil fuels
fossil fuels
www.rprogress.org
3
tools for thinking: systems design
energy balances:
• how much energy does product use?
• how much energy to construct product
•
•
•
from available materials?
how much energy to transport materials
from collection site to production site? or
transport product from construction site to
user?
how much energy to produce materials?
how much energy to recycle/reuse product
at end of life?