Design versus...
Last week, I proposed a definition of design:
Design is the process of deciding what to make, as a separate activity from making.
Let’s now start unpacking this perspective by working through the four characteristics of the definition.
The first characteristic is how it differentiates between design and other types of activity, and illuminates the context in which it exists.
Differentiating between activities
This perpective on design pairs it with making, or construction. Design and making are two unbalanced halves of a whole activity, of craft.
They are halves because they are incomplete without each other. A design that is never built, or never intended to be built is just a drawing (un dessin). Without deciding what to make (explicitly or implicitly), we don't get a recognizable object, just a random pile of materials on the ground.
They are unbalanced because, although design and construction work hand-in-hand, they are not symetric! On the one hand, construction accounts for 85-90% of the costs of a new building or bridge. On the other, the design (the decisions about what to make) is the primary shaper of the object.
The context of design
This definition also gives us a two-dimensional context for design: first, design occurs when we are making something; second, design emerges when there is a specific division of labour in the making.
Music is not designed, it is composed. Activities are not designed, they are planned. Though there are parallels with these domains, when we talk about design, we are talking about making things.
A second dimension to design is that it only comes into being when the work of making is split in a particular way. When woodcarver shapes a figuring with a sharp knife and decides on its features as she carves, the line between deciding what to make and actually making becomes so blurry that it dissappears. 'Design' as a concept loses it's meaning.
Making the most of the division
I have no interest in debating whether this division is right or wrong, expedient or divinely ordained. Every structure for organizing people and work makes some things easy and others hard. What are the benefits and drawbacks of splitting craft into the separate activities of design and making?
The most obvious benefit is scale. Large, complex construction projects require massive number of different skilled trades. As projects get larger, it is harder and harder (and eventually impossible!) to make their construction without a clear design, a clear decision about what is to be made.
This idea of scale turns up in music as well. Orchestras that play composed music (e.g. classical music) are routinely made up of 40+ musicians. Jazz music, where the music is improvised on the spot, is more often played by trios and quartets.
A second benefit of this division is that it provides space for the unique nature of the two activities. By stepping away from the specifics of construction, we can ask "What is the best thing to make?", instead of "What is the easiest or most expedient thing to make?". Likewise, no builder can put together a plan to build something if no decisions have been make, or if the decisions keep changing! In the best case, designers and builders can develop and contribute distinct perspectives that contribute to improving the result of their joint efforts
These distinct perspectives can also be the main drawback. The division of labour makes it more likely that we identify with the specific half that we sit in, rather than seeing ourselves as team members working together to make. This makes us more likely to argue and fight, than to work together to craft wonderful things.
During one of my first job interviews after finishing engineering school, I was dismayed to hear that the firm proposed to send me to a construction site for a couple of years - I wanted to be a designer!! They told me about an engineer who had worked closely with contractors for several years and was now a very effective designer who's projects ran smoothly because she knew exactly what information contractors needed to be able to execute her designs.
To truly excel as designers and builders, and to navigate the changes that computers are bringing to our field, we need to see our work as a distinct part of the whole of craft. This perspective opens the door to new ways of working together and navigating the rapid and terrifying changes in our industry.