The Act of Design - Essay Example

THE ACT OF DESIGN ID Number: of of School Word Count: 596 of Submission: October 15, 2012 THE ACT OF DESIGN This paper discusses two articles related to the act of design. The first article is written by Michael D. Murphy entitled “Landscape Architecture Theory” in which he claimed thinking is the most critical tool when it comes to design ability. He further claims that while architects are trained to be liberal in their approach to problem solving in order to generate creative thought it is more important to acquire the habit of critical thinking.

This is because being critical allows the designer to frame and evaluate a certain problem correctly, instead of just using creativity to come up with solutions which might not be appropriate if the problem has not been defined. The second article is co-edited by Richard Buchanan and Victor Margolin which discussed almost the same thing. In an article titled “Discovering Design Ability” and written by Nigel Cross, he said that designers must use creativity and intuition to come up with solutions, similar to the liberal approach in the first article, which in other words, designers must think in non-linear ways.

One fundamental concept mentioned in the first article is to use critical thinking in order to have a successful problem-solving process, using focused knowledge based on facts and ease in using these facts to the problem at hand. Another powerful concept is to see things differently, with a new perspective and to use innovation as a departure from prevailing standards. This is an essence of critical thinking, to think independently and boldly, not intimidated by constraints like universal truths, simple answers or easy solutions.

The second article has two powerful concepts in it, which are that problems and their potential solutions are often interwoven or linked, and a second insight is successful designing very often requires a high level of tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty, since many things in design are not straightforward at all. Drawings or sketches are often used to explore both problems and potential solutions (together), due to uncertainty. Using design to solve a problem requires the use of creative and critical thinking.

This is to alternate between the two modes, first to think creatively for potential solutions and then later, critically evaluate its feasibility.1 This idea is echoed by de Bono in a six-thinking-hats approach to problem solving, lateral thinking using creativity. Ordinary thinking is linear and logical that puts limitation on creative thinking; most design problems are ambiguous and requires thinking “outside the box,” what intuition is all about.2 It is alright to think ambiguously, to just trust ones instincts and gut feel to see what comes out as a novel solution.

This reminds me of a remarkable Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ in Russian) pioneered by Genrich Altshuller where he claims all technological progress had been attained through a series of re-arrangements, or re-inventing an existing technology to solve new problems.3 This is to re-create things in significant and unusual ways to attain novel solutions, the impossible unexpectedly becomes doable. I intend to use all of the above new information to make design solutions that will defy normal thinking.

This is to make decisions despite the ambiguity inherent in design problems as not all facts or information can be made available but still go ahead with a bold decision and not be intimidated by any social pressure. I will endeavor to have a fresh approach to old problems using a paradigm shift.4 Any lacking information can be supplied by letting ideas flow freely and generate several varied solutions at once, in a heuristics approach to problem solving.5 Bibliography Altshuller, Genrich. And Suddenly the Inventor Appeared: TRIZ, the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving.

Worcester, MA, USA: Technical Innovation Center, 1994. Cross, Nigel. Discovering Design Ability. In Discovering Design: Explorations in Design Studies, edited by Richard Buchanan and Victor Margolin, 105-120. Chicago, IL, USA: University of Chicago Press, 1995. Leonard, David C. Learning Theories, A-Z. Santa Barbara, CA, USA: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. Murphy, Michael D. Landscape Architecture Theory: An Evolving Body of Thought. Long Grove, IL, USA: Waveland Press, 2005. Tversky, Amos and Kahneman, Daniel.

"Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases.” Science 185, no. 4157 (September 27, 1974): 1124-1131.