Design Practices and Design Paradigms in the 21st Century



Design Practices & Paradigms CRN 7341 – PGHT 5652-A

Tuesdays, 12:10 to 2 pm

2 W 13th St., Room 1100

Instructor: Susan Yelavich, Director, Masters in Design Studies; Associate Professor, School of Art and Design History and Theory, Parsons The New School for Design yelavics@newschool.edu

What does the scope, structure and content of practice reveal about the state of design and ambitions of design today? This course will be structured around a series of case studies of modes of practice that range from the poetic and experimental, to the normative, to interdisciplinary hybrids and socially engaged collectives. Students will examine the philosophical premises of different conceptions of practice through the course readings. And they will compare different approaches to production, collaboration, and authorship, through observations and interviews. Each student will be paired with a particular studio, firm or collaborative in order to produce their final paper: a profile and contextual analysis of a particular practice and its implications for the professions and the future.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Proficiency in primary research and interviewing.

Conversancy with different modes of design practice.

Ability to produce a concept map of a design practice.

Experience in collaborative research.

Ability to contextualize design within related modes of thought, i.e. philosophy, sociology, anthropology, history, and aesthetics.

An awareness of the pitfalls of hagiography.

Ability to write a critically constructive profile of a living designer.

ATTENDANCE / PUNCTUALITY

Attendance at every class meeting is mandatory. Two absences will result in a lowered grade. Three absences require automatic failure. Arriving on-time is essential. Each late arrival (20 minutes or more) will count as ½ absence.

PREPARATION / PARTICIPATION

The course will be run as a discussion-oriented seminar. You should arrive at each class meeting having completed, and prepared to discuss, the day’s assignments. High participation grades (B+ or above) will be awarded for participation that: (1) reflects

careful attention to readings, assignments, and discussions; (2) is expressed clearly; and (3) demonstrates respect for the instructor and classmates, even if you disagree.

GRADING STANDARDS

Grading will reflect the standards generally expected of a graduate level course. Grades of A will be reserved for those students who perform exceptionally on all aspects of the course. Grade of B will reflect adequate graduate level work. Any grade below a B will be an indication that the student is performing at less than an adequate graduate level.

Further, note that all assignments must reflect professional standards of analysis, presentation, writing, and timeliness. As in professional life, accurate spelling and grammar, and clear, concise writing are critical. Timely submissions are expected. No assignment will be accepted after their respective due date unless the instructor provides prior approval. In addition, an incomplete for the course will be granted only in highly unusual situations, and only with prior written request from the student and approval by the instructor.

WRITING RESOURCES:

As you prepare your writing assignments for this class, you are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the following resources:

• Turabian, Kate L. and John Grossman. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1996.

• Chicago Manual of Style online guide:

• Hacker, Diane. A Writer’s Reference, 4th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 1999. See the website hacker/writersref for on-line writing resources.

• University Writing Center, 71 Fifth Avenue, 9th floor. (212) 229-5121. The writing center is a valuable resource for everyone, with special resources for ESL, assistance available by e-mail, and both scheduled and walk-in appointments. newschool.edu/admin/writingcenter/index.html.

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism will result in failing the class and may entail additional repercussions as determined by the Office of Advising. As defined by the University, “Plagiarism is the use of another person's words or ideas in any academic work using books, journals, internet postings, or other student papers without proper acknowledgment.”  If any part of an assignment – a fact, an interpretation, an approach – was inspired by a source, use a footnote to direct your reader to the original source. Words or phrases borrowed directly require quotation marks and footnotes. See for more details.

STUDENT DISABILITY SERVICES:

In keeping with the University’s policy of providing equal access for students with disabilities, any student with a disability who needs academic accommodations is welcome to meet with me privately. All conversations will be kept confidential. Students requesting any accommodations will also need to meet with Jason Luchs in the office of Student Disability Services, who will conduct an intake, and if appropriate, provide an academic accommodation notification letter to you to bring to me. At that point I will review the letter with you and discuss these accommodations in relation to this course. Mr. Luchs’ office is located in 79 Fifth Avenue, 5th floor. His direct line is (212) 229-5626 x3135. You may also access more information through the University’s web site at

ASSIGNMENTS:

Note: Assignments 1, 2 and 6 are produced jointly by the teams; the rest are produced individually but in consultation with your partner. If you do not have a partner, all assignments are still required of you.

1) Interview questions Weeks 3 & 5

2) Annotated bibliography Week 7

3) Sketch map Week 8

4) Concept map / paper draft* Week 10

5) 12-page paper (w. map) Week 14

6) Oral presentations Weeks 14 & 15

*Paper and map should contextualize practice within at least 3 of the 5 realms:

1) The history of design / object-making, i.e. if you were working with a graphic designer you might consider the relationship of his/her practice to other modes of communication in different periods of time, such as scrolls, manuscripts, books, diaries, letters, websites.

2) Political events which made the practice possible, i.e. the Civil Rights movement, the end of the Cold War, the Arab Spring, feminist movement.

3) Ideological framework of the practice, i.e., designer as author, collaborator, interpreter/curator, team member, participant in the creative commons, researcher, critic, ethnographer, anthropologist, activist.

4) Aesthetic ideologies, i.e., baroque, classical, organic, modernist, postmodernist, alter-modernist.

5) Relationship to ideas from other modes of thought, i.e., philosophy, anthropology, sociology, psychology.

DESIGNERS AND DESIGN FIRMS

Architecture: Michael Murphy, MASS Design: (Massachusetts)

Students: Hayley Arsenault + Cédric René-Marc Williams

Interior/Product design: Anna Barbara: (Milan)

Student: Dora Sapunar

Systems design: Hugh Dubberly: (San Francisco)

Students: Tia Remington-Bell + Melissa McWilliams

Artist/Designer: Christopher Robbins: (NY)

Students:_______________________________________________________________

Service design: Eduardo Staszowski: (NYC)

Students:_______________________________________________________________

Communication Design: Ellen Lupton: (Baltimore)

Students: Lindsay Reichart + Sarah Lillenberg

Sean Donahue: (Los Angeles)

Student: Divia Padayachee

Fashion design: Otto von Busch: (NYC)

Students: Vivian Wei + Kamala Murali

Product design:

Steve Wilcox: (Medical instruments) (Philadelphia)

Students:_______________________________________________________________

Transdisciplinary design: Chris Conley: (Chicago)

Student: Chen-Yu Lo

Product/Exhibition design: Constantin and Laurene Boym: (NYC)

Student: Jessica Iwaniec + Ji Youn Park

Design education: Lisa Grocott: (NYC)

Student: Gigi Polo

___________________________________________________________________

General Resources:

Ericson, Magnus and Ramia Mazé, eds. Design Act: Socially and politically engaged design today – critical roles and emerging tactics. Sternberg Press, 2011.

Kvale, Steinar and Brinkman, Svend. InterViews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing. (2nd Edition) Los Angeles/London/New Delhi/Singapore: Sage Publications, Inc, 2009.

Leach, Neil. Rethinking Architecture: A Reader in Cultural Theory. London: Routledge, 1997. SEE pdf in MISC file on course blog.

Friedman, Dan; Deitch, Jeffrey; Holt, Steven; Mendini, Alessandro. Dan Friedman: Radical Modernism. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994.

Meroni, Anna, ed. Creative communities: People inventing sustainable ways of living. Milano: Edizioni POLI.design, 1st Edition, January 2007. SEE pdf in MISC file on course blog.

Manzini, Ezio and Tassinari, Virginia, “Sustainable qualities: powerful drivers of social change; How social innovation is changing the world (and how design can help),” 10.11.2012. SEE pdf in MISC file on course blog.

Smith, Cynthia. Design with the Other 90%: Cities. New York: Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution, 2011.

Semester-at-a-Glance

Week 1 Introduction

Jan. 29

Week 2 Shifting Paradigms

Feb. 5

Week 3 Social/Situational Design 1st set of interview questions due

Feb. 12

Week 4 Case Study: William Morrish, architect, urban designer

Feb. 19

Week 5 Critical Design 2nd set of interview questions due

Feb. 26

Week 6 Case Study: George Nelson, architect, designer, writer

March 5

Week 7 Design and Ethics Annotated bibliography due

March 12

Week 8 Case Study: Christopher Robbins, artist Sketch Map due

March 19

March 26 No Class. Spring break.

Week 9 Case Study: Dan Friedman, communication designer

April 2

Week 10 DIY and Agency Concept Map/Draft due

April 19

Week 11 Case Study: Peter Lloyd Jones, design scientist

April 16

Week 12 Aesthetics

April 23

Week 13 Student Presentations Final paper due

April 31

Week 14 Student Presentations

May 7

Week 15 Student Presentations

May 14

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES

Note: All required readings are available on the course blog.

Week 1 Introduction

Jan. 29

Readings:

Cross, Nigel. Design Thinking: Understanding How Designers Think and Work. Oxford/New York: Berg, 2011, 3-30.

Julier, Guy. The Culture of Design. London: Sage Publications, 2000, 1-64.

Additional reading:

DeWitt, Kate, Harry Gassel and Jen Lee. “Without Protocol: Interview with Babak Radboy, August 15, 2011" and “Working It: Interview with Michael Rock, August 30, 2011." In Super-Models, GDNYC, Spring/Summer 2012.  (Also see: )

Week 2 Shifting Paradigms

Feb. 5

Readings:

Dubberly, Hugh, “Design in the Age of Biology: Shifting from Mechanical-Object Ethos to an Organic-Systems Ethos,” 1-12.



Bello, Paula. Goodscapes: Global Design Processes. Jyvaskyla, Finland:

Gummerus Printing, 2008, 29-40.

Caplan, Ralph. By Design: Why there are no locks on the bathroom doors in the Hotel Louis XIV and other object lessons. New York: Fairchild Publications, 1982, 152-166.

Resources on Interviewing:

Kvale, Steinar and Svend Brinkman. InterViews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing. (2nd Edition) Los Angeles/London/ New Delhi/Singapore: Sage Publications, Inc., 2009, 45, 47-50,102-103, 134-135.

Mitchell, Bill. “The Art of the Interview” (based on a presentation by Neal Conan). National Conference on Public Radio Talk Shows, April, 2002, The Poynter Institute, Updated Mar. 2, 2012

Morris, Earl. “How to Interview Someone.” Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Magazine, September 22, 2011.

Week 3 Social/Participatory/Collaborative Design

Feb. 12 1st set of interview questions due

Readings:

Keshavarz, Mahmoud and Ramia Mazé, “Design and Dissensus: Framing & staging participation in design research.” Design Philosophy Papers, Jan. 2013, 14 pages.

Ericson, Magnus, and Ramia Mazé, eds. “Tactics of (De)signing Social Interactions” and “Interview with Yanki Lee.” In Design Act: Socially and politically engaged design today – critical roles and emerging tactics, 115-120, 208-226. Sternberg Press, 2011.

Sennett, Richard. Together:  The Rituals, Pleasures and Politics of Cooperation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012, 3-31,199-220.

Additional readings:

Brooks, Sarah. “Part I: Design for Social Innovation: An Interview With Ezio Manzini.” blog, July 26, 2011. 

Week 4 Case Study: William Morrish, architect, urban designer

Feb. 19

Readings:

Bender, Thomas. The Unfinished City: New York and the Metropolitan Idea. New York: The New Press, 2002, 219-238.

Morrish, William R. “After the Storm: Rebuilding Cities upon a Reflexive Landscape.” Social Research, New School for Social Research, Fall 2008, 20 pages.

Muschamp, Herbert. “Two for the Roads: A Vision of Urban Design.” New York Times, Feb. 13, 1994.

Additional:

University of Toronto, Daniel Public Lectures: William Morrish.



Cohen, Michael, William Morrish, Anushay Anjum, Lisa Guaqueta. UN-Habitat, United Nations Human Settlements Programme, Medium Term Strategic and Institutional Plan, Focus Area 2: Participatory Planning, Management and Governance, Strategy Paper, Draft December 25, 2008, Part II, 1-33.

Week 5 Critical Design

Feb. 26 2nd set of interview questions due

Readings:

Dunne, Anthony and Fiona Raby. “Designer as Author.” In Design Noir: The Secretive Life of Electronic Objects, 58-65. London: August/Birkhauser, 2001.

Dunne, Anthony. Hertzian Tales. Cambridge, Mass./London, England: The MIT Press, 2005, 43-67. [Ignore duplicate of p. 50.]

Franzato, Carlo. “Design as Speculation.” Design Philosophy Papers, no. 1, 2011, 10 pages.

Dilnot, Clive. “The Critical in Design (Part One).” Journal of Writing in

Creative Practice, no. 1 (2008): 177-189.

Hunt, Jamer. “Just Re-do It: Tactical Formlessness and Everyday Consumption.” In Strangely Familiar: Design and Everyday Life, ed. Andrew Blauvelt, 56-71. Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 2003.

Week 6 Case Study: George Nelson

March 5

Readings:

Eisenband, Jochen. “George Nelson: Architect, Writer, Designer, Teacher.” Exhibition brochure, Yale School of Architecture Gallery, 2012, 6 pages.

Nelson, George. "The Future of the Object." In George Nelson Design, 134-150. New York: Whitney Library of Design, 1979.

Nelson, George. “A Problem of Design: How to Kill People.” Camera

3, CBS, Fall 1960.



Harwood, John. “The Wound Man: George Nelson on the “End of

Architecture.” Grey Room 32, Spring 2008, 90-115.

Additional reading:

Yelavich, Susan. “The Prescience of George Nelson.” Forthcoming in Constructs Yale Architecture, Feb. 2013.

Week 7 Ethics = Design

March 12 Annotated bibliography due

Readings:

Dilnot, Clive. “Ethics? Design?” In The Archeworks Papers, no. 1, ed. Stanley Tigerman, 15-53. Chicago: Archeworks, 2005.

Tai, Earl. “A Case for Distributive Justice in Design.” In Design Studies: A Reader, eds. Hazel Clark and David Brody, 454-458. Oxford/New York: Berg 2009.

Additional reading:

Dilnot, Clive. “The Idea of the Gift.” In The Idea of Design: A Design Issues Reader, eds. Victor Margolin and Richard Buchanan, 144-155. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press, 1995.

Week 8 Case Study: Christopher Robbins, artist

March 19 The Politics of Working with Others and “the Other”

or How to be an Outsider

Sketch Map due

Readings:

Nussbaum, Bruce. “Is Humanitarian Design the New Imperialism.” Fast Company, Co-Design, March 2011.



von Osten, Marion. “Architecture without Architects—Another Anarchist Approach.” E-flux journal, no. 6 (May 2009).



Appiah, Anthony. Cosmopolitanism. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2006, xi-xxi, 101-113. [Introduction and Chapter 7]

Additional reading:

Kristof, Nicholas D. “Aid: Can It Work?” New York Review of Books, October 5, 2006.



March 26 No Class. Spring break.

Week 9 Case Study: Dan Friedman, communication designer

April 2 Guest speaker: Christopher Pullman

Reading:

Friedman, Dan. “Life, Style, and Advocacy” [1990]. In Design Culture: An Anthology of Writing from the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design, eds. Steven Heller and Marie Finamore, 151-154. New York: Allworth Press, 1997.

Lupton, Ellen. “Memoriam: Dan Friedman, 1945-1995.” Statements, the Journal of the American Center for Design, (Fall 1995-Winter 1996): 17-18.

Friedman, Dan, Jeffrey Deitch, Steven Holt, Alessandro Mendini. Dan Friedman: Radical Modernism. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994, 15-22.

Pullman, Christopher. “Dan Friedman: Radical Modernist 2.0 (working title).” Exhibition Proposal and Checklist, 2012.

Margolin, Victor. “Review of Dan Friedman: Radical Modernism.”

First published in Émigré, 34 (1995): 5 pages.

Week 10 DIY/Agency

April 19 Concept Map/Draft Due

Readings:

Atkinson, Paul. “Do it yourself: democracy and design.” Journal of

Design History, no. 19: 1-10.

Beegan, Gerry and Paul Atkinson. “Professionalism, Amateurism and the Boundaries of Design.” Journal of Design History, no. 21: 305-313.

Navarro, Marco. “Repairing Cities, 1, 2, 3, 4.”



Additional readings:

Gelber, Steven, M. “Do-It-Yourself: Constructing, Repairing and Maintaining Domestic Masculinity,” American Quarterly, no. 49 (March 1997): 66-112.

Almquist, Julka and Julia Lupton. “Affording Meaning: Design-Oriented Research from the Humanities and Social Sciences.” Design Issues, no. 26 (Winter 2010): 3-14.

Week 11 Case Study: Peter Lloyd Jones, biologist/hybrid designer

April 16

Readings:

Popp T. “An Architect Walks Into the Lab.” The Pennsylvania Gazette, 30-39.



Additional readings:

Caccavale, Elio and Michael Reiss. "Miracles, monsters and disturbances." In Creative Encounters: New Conversations in Science, Education and the Arts, 48-63. London: Wellcome Trust, 2008. ...

Week 12 Perspectives on the Relevance of Aesthetics

April 23

Readings:

Scarry, Elaine. On Beauty and Being Just. Princeton, NJ: Princeton

University Press, 1999, 109-124.

Schjeldahl, Peter. “Notes on Beauty.” In Uncontrollable Beauty: Toward a New Aesthetics, eds. Bill Beckley and David Shapiro, 53-59. New York: Allworth Press, 1998.

Ulrich, Karl T. “Aesthetics in Design.” In Design: Creation of Artifacts in

Society, 1-19. Pontifica Press (), 2007.

Markussen, Thomas, “The Disruptive Aesthetics of Design Activism: Enacting Design Between Art and Politics.” Design Issues, no. 29 (Winter 2013): 38-50.

Sterling, Bruce. “An Essay on the New Aesthetic.” , April 2, 2012. 



Additional Reading:

Kester, Grant H. “Aesthetics After the End of Art: An Interview with Susan Buck-Morss.” Art Journal, no. 65 (Spring 1997): 38-46.

Week 13 Student Presentations

April 31 Final paper due

Week 14 Student Presentations

May 7

Week 15 Student Presentations

May 14

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