Episode 4 - A Short History of Design Methods

Speaker 1 Hey, this is Luke. Hello everyone. Welcome to another podcast about design Theory and methodology. Today we're going to talk about something that is at the core of design Theory and methodology which is designed methods and we will ask the question. Do we need to design Methods at all? So if you've listened to the other podcast, you will be familiar with our formats by now, which is that we start a podcast with interviewing an expert. Bert. And today I'm interviewing a very special expert Professor. Peter Lloyd's, welcome Peter. Speaker 2 Thank you very much for having me. Speaker 1 So today's a little bit different because Peter is the expert today, which means that I want to interview Peter first and then I will discuss this interview with someone else and that person is annemiek Boolean. Anamika is one of the authors of the dove design guides which is a book full of design methods. So Pizza, you are a professor of integrated design methodology here, at CU delft and you are an expert in design methods. So, just out of curiosity, where does your interest in design methods? Come Speaker 2 from That's a good question. My PhD was in in a psychology studying the processes of design, thinking the cognate, literally, the cognitions of design thinking and how designers design. And at a certain point, I realized I was in the middle of a discipline that was much richer than I thought it was. So, I was studying the psychology of Designing, but then I sort of stumbled on, on design methods and design methods being About how designers should design. So I was looking at how designers do design and design methods are about prescribing a process or how designers should design. So I think I started in the midpoint of a discipline and then sort of work backwards and forwards. And realized that, how, how intertwined those two things are? The, you know, how designers do designing and how they think they do designing, and how we educate designers to, to design, Speaker 1 Yeah. So that's interesting. You saying there's a difference between how designers do design and how designers should be designing or how we educate designers. So let's get straight into it. Do we do we need to design Methods at all? I Speaker 2 think I mean they're very useful in some, in some ways. It's certainly an educational situations. That's I think probably where the, the most useful design methods because they you can really be Disciplined about following certain phases, and you can build that into an educational program. So, you know, you can assess things at various points and actually, they get to the heart of what design methods are about, which is externalizing information in the process. So, the original idea for design methods was to get away from intuitive. Kind of design processes, where people just kind of made all sorts of judgments and no one really knew how they were making those judgments or why they were making those judgment. So what a design method does is force you to actually externalize information, gather information and then make it social some way. So to discuss it and in education. That's that's what we do as teachers, we assess work. So a design method is a really good way of instructing people into the phases of design of the different things that you can, you can do in design. So I think we do need them in design education. I think the case is less clear for Design Professionals in practice, you know, if you pick up a book on design methods, you go to a book shop or something, which I quite often do. And I kind of page through the books. And I think all this is an interesting method. That's an interesting method. I don't know how many people actually sit down with a book or work through from page 1 to page, 10, going through a method. So, I think I tend to think of methods as types of knowledge somehow that people have come up with. So if you have a sustainable design method, it's sort of a way of getting your idea of what the sustainable design should be across. Cross to someone who doesn't know anything about it, in a sort of more experiential way. So I tend to sort of see them lesser sort of these sort of scientific rational, processes and more representation of a certain kind of knowledge. Speaker 1 So, in a way that's almost like a design method as a way of explaining, how designers do design Speaker 2 the really very good at forcing you to do something that you would normally do. I think that's another aspect of them. Is that You know, we all have our limitations, we all have our ways of doing things. And a method is essentially doing something that someone else tells you to do and following a process that they told you to do based on their knowledge. You know, they might be an expert, they might not be an expert. It's the idea that you're being taken to somewhere that you wouldn't have gone to if you weren't using the method. So it takes you, it gives you a more complete understanding of a of a problem situation or, you know, different types of Solution that you might generate and how to look at Speaker 1 them. So one of your expertise is the history of design methods. So let's talk a little bit about that. So where do design methods come from and what have been the most important developments in design methods? Speaker 2 I think, like all history's, you could, it's how far you want to go back? Basically, probably go back to Ed, the ancient Greeks and Greek architecture. I think really something like the Bauhaus was where people began to look at terms of, in terms of It's it wasn't really a movement about methods. It was about something else but I think people began to look a bit more systematically. At what design was really that the starting point for me, is there's a famous conference called the conference on design methods. That was held in 1962. And that had a number of people from America from Europe, from the UK coming together and basically, it was a post-war conference and during the war, lots of scientific kind of methods have been developed for analyzing complex situations, you know, operational research how to shift, military gear from, you know, one place to another Logistics. So there were these kind of scientific kind of methods and this conference brought together a bunch of people that that said, The world is getting more complicated. We need methods to understand how complicated the work. The world is getting. So we want to move away from these intuitive ways of design of this, kind of craft based way of Designing. And I think the field of ergonomics was already moving in that way of more scientific basis of user experience. So this was that kind of idea applied to two methods for about 10 years. I think there was quite a lot of development of different kinds of methods in architecture. In engineering and Industrial design, lots of different disciplines. And then there was a famous book that came out in 1970 by a guy called John, Chris Jones and he has the lovely title design methods seeds of human Futures and that was the really the first collection of design methods. It's sort of like a very early delft design guide. If you pick it up in the library is just a collection of tools methods approaches of how to how to break design problems down. So that that was the that was the kind of key point in the in the history of design methods. And what happened after that is quite interesting too because people began to look at these myths and say hey this is really good way of Designing we can really make it a kind of scientific and rational process what it did. It forced people to sort of think there was a right way and a wrong way of Designing and this wasn't the intention of these methods. The intention was to externalize knowledge. The intention was to make The information on which you are basing your decisions, explicit and discussable. So there was a big sort of reaction to that and he was a bit horrified, I think, by the way, that his design methods were taken in very rational, scientific ways. And he actually went back on his, his methods and said, this is not the way to design at all. And he started to embrace chance. And basically saw said, well, you know, you can use a method or you can use chance, you know, if you have a decision to make you can just leave it to chance. And what that teaches you is that when chance makes a decision for you. You, you know, in your heart, whether that's the right or wrong thing to do. So you have this kind of dialogue with with chance processes. So he really kind of went the the other way and said, there's all this kind of prescription and order in the design process or you can just leave it all to chance and chances. Another way that takes you to places that you wouldn't normally go to and that's what he started exploring. They have this nice quote, I've got it here which is about his original design methods. He says rationality originally Seen as the means to open intuition two aspects of life outside the designers experience, became almost overnight. A toolkit of rigid methods that are obliged designers and planners to act like machines, deaf to every human cry and incapable of laughter. And I think that kind of sums up the process where you, where science comes in. Everyone thinks there's scientific and then what's left out, it was is all the things that makes design interesting and enjoyable. And so there was Any reaction to that. And I think one of the, one of the key reactions was a paper by two people called Horst rittel and Melvin Weber 1973 So, they conceptualized the difference between design and science, they said science is really aimed at solving tame problems problems that we can break down, we can do some science, we can put it all back together again and we kind of know what we're talking about and they said designs, not like that. Design is about Wicked problems. They have this phrase about Wicked problems that have a number of aspects to them either that they listed. I think I think there's nine ten or eleven that they're worth looking up because they're all interesting. Things like you can't think about a problem without thinking about a solution. There's no, right or wrong answer. There's only a kind of better or worse answer. There's not an optimal answer design problems. So they came with this idea that in the solving process, the knowledge for doing for solving a design problem isn't just in the head of the designer. There's a much more equal distribution of knowledge in design processes. So they really started off this idea that Of participatory methods to design where you draw on the knowledge of other people and actually, the design process is a kind of birthing process. And a method is a kind of Midwife for that process where you're trying to bring something about or facilitate something as a designer. You're not, you're not the person that's really coming up with all the ideas. You're drawing your drawing ideas from lots of other people and helping this, this this product that you're working on to come and come. So that was the second phase. I would say the third phase is is really back to intuition, really looking back at how designers do actually work, you know. And that was when I started doing my studies, what is it that designs actually do that? Sort of distinctive, one of the key papers that I came across was the idea that designers work in this way called conjecture analysis. It sounds very abstract. Yeah. So that's so I suppose some of the Design methods were based around the idea that of analysis synthesis. So you spend a long time, analyzing a problem, and then at some point, you come up with a solution. And this description of design, really turned it around the other way. And said, know what designers do is they come up with conjectures so proposals or propositions and then really work out what the consequences of those things are. That's a intrinsic to our way of thinking is to think in terms of what can we do and then what will that mean? Rather than let's do a big analysis and then work out what the solution is. So it was sort of like the opposite way around and I think that was quite a powerful way of Of saying, you know, methods sometimes they work with people but sometimes they work against people when the when the actual ways of thinking are are different somehow. And I think it really hangs around this idea of description and prescription. So a description is how designers design prescription is, how should designers design? So is that that answering that question? And a method is really telling you You should design in this way. A description is really much more, or let's just see what the diversity of people are doing when they do design processes. So, I think coming up to the present day, I think there's been a much sort of, more social expansion and design methods. What we now see in design is many more voices coming into the process somehow and a less rigorous prescriptive process. So it's a bit more. You kind of make it up as you. Go Speaker 1 along. Do you mean that it's more like bits and pieces and you kind of you know you can't use this method or that Speaker 2 math? Yes. Yeah and you kind of pick and choose which method you want to use, you can design, you can design your own design method. I think now because because there are so many methods around and so many methods that you can use and even you can go back to John Chris Jones book about design methods and you can sort of construct your own process from that. And I think there's so it's much more flexible. Now, the approach, and I think also in education, we've sort of seen that. If, if you look back, To delft 15 years ago, the book that everyone had to learn was Norbert Rosenberg. And Johanna equals product design, fundamentals, and methods and that was part of the curriculum. You really had to go through the book. Remember Speaker 1 that? Speaker 2 And you know, I think a lot of people do remember that and that and the fact that it was in an educational context really made people kind of remember all that things even though they kind of fought against the idea. But why do I have to design like this in this analyzing the problem and then coming up. With three solutions and then devour choosing one. And so I think even even that sort of developed I worked with Paul Heckert and Matthias Van Dyke in developing the VIP method, therefore their VIP book and that was an interesting process to go through because that suddenly opens up a kind of different way of Designing to. So those those two approaches I think among the many that are on offer at delft really kind of represent, two different ways of going about designing. Speaker 1 Yeah. So if I'm a student and I'm I'm kind of new You to design and I want to become a good designer, I want to learn more about design methods. Where should I start? Speaker 2 That's a good question, I think, I mean there are obviously a lot of books around design delve design guide is one. I mentioned John Chris Jones book. I mean I pull that off the shelf quite often and look through that. So they're things that don't really go out a date, somehow design methods. And I think, now, you can get lots of websites that list design methods. I think if you do a Google search for design methods of brings up, the lots of starting eight points for identifying methods. And I think just trying some of those methods out seeing which one sort of intuitively appeal to you and Speaker 1 then and then trying to work on them, I think. Yeah, the way, yeah. What. I'm thinking about my own practice, what I've mostly done is, you know, I do read a lot because I'm also an academic, and I guess I've applied things in my practice that I thought this sounds interesting. Let's give it a try, but it's only when you apply it lots of times and really can embed it. Your own design process. Yeah, yes, that Speaker 2 it makes, you know, becomes meaningful. Yeah, they do something with it. I mean, my colleague. Nigel cross, who's another? He's a good player. He's a good reference to go to Nigel. He's written a lot about design methods. He has a very famous book called engineering design methods. We has this phrase that design methods are life jackets. They're not straight jackets, so they're not designed to kind of restrict you and constrict you into a certain way of thinking, they're there to sort of help you. You get through a design process and think wider than your own thoughts. I like that idea, but there is a tendency, I think to kind of cherry pick design methods. And when you see books, full of design methods, I think it kind of gives the impression that you can just pick them up and put them down and I think as you suggested, it's much more about finding out which ones will benefit you when and you see it, you have to kind of seriously engage with them. I think and yes and actually Be frustrated by them and then work out what what they can do for you. Yeah, whereas I think if you spend, you know, a couple of hours reading something and trying it out and thinking, well this doesn't work, I don't think you've really given them methods. Not that much chance to work for you. Yeah, Speaker 1 yeah, yeah. I like the metaphor of the straitjacket as well. When I when I was doing my PhD in user-centered design, I often heard from design practitioners who were saying stop, you know, developing design methods. We don't use this. Methods. And I think it's because of this older notion of design methods as a straight jacket. Doesn't give you that flexibility. Speaker 2 I think they naturally the way that methods are generally represented to in terms of, I don't know. Just basically boxes and arrows and you sort of see all kinds of schemes, you know. Sometimes you have circles and squares and they all kind of give this impression of something that's overly scientific somehow and yeah that you don't it doesn't fit with your how you experience the world to To. It's like these kind of strange explanations and bopped block diagrams and they're not intuitively things that people really want to use. Speaker 1 It's interesting because, you know, I know a lot of those books as well and they kind of kind of catalogs full of methods and toolboxes and the websites, I know as well. But it's interesting that we're just looking at methods in terms of books, like and in terms of websites like in the way they've been Speaker 2 written the year. Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah. Wouldn't that be like other Speaker 1 ways to kind of convey methods like the students? They're now working on Speaker 2 video? Yeah. Yeah, no. I think that's a good but I was not something that I've done much. But video is the great medium to show, essentially a time-based process or a Time based methods and things like animation. I think of a good way to show to illustrate how something unfolds over the time when you see it in a book, I think you tend to see an overview of everything. And think that you can take it in all at once. Whereas I think something that's kind of revealed in time through video or through the podcast, I think another medium maybe where design methods could be developed. Yeah, so I think there's some potential there but I haven't I haven't looked at that. That's a good Speaker 1 question. Yeah, although will be exciting to explore, then in this in this course, well thank you very much Peter. That was very insightful to learn a little bit more about the history of design methods. And if we do or do not, Need design methods. So thank you very much. Thank you very much bigger. Okay, so that was the interview I did with pizza. Today, I'm here with enemy Clan billion who is an assistant professor here at Tu delft. And annemiek is also one of the authors of the delft design guides that most of the listeners who are probably know, which is a book full of design methods, which were developed here at you delft. Welcome annemiek. Thank you for inviting. Ting me Mickey. So you listen to the interview with Peter as well. What did you think I liked it? I think we raised some important points like General messages or the question is, what is the relevance of design methods for designers? Yeah, and I liked also that he raised this, this quote from Jones about or actually his reflection on methods and then He concluded like yeah, leave it to chance. Yes. Also kind of intriguing also. Yeah. Okay. Now, what are we doing with this delve design guide? Oh yeah, all of these methods and tools and we do really need it and so we don't really need it and then but I think we need it somehow and I think not only for Education. Yeah I had a that same view actually. Yeah, what is your? Yeah. Yeah. Actually, I also, Think for educators it's quite over a tool to help them to educate because it's their Lifeline, maybe a. So when all these different projects that they need to coach. Yeah but actually in education I think it's there is also a pitfall that there's too much focus on methods and processes and then the it's finally about result in the effect that you want to have with your design. Yeah I guess. But so how do you think then That's coaches, should use design methods. Yeah. So like so I think carefully and I agree with Peter that there is a very personal component in design or design is and how you there are many ways to Rome. Yeah, to final result. And so I think coaches need to be sensitive for the individual differences and balance also between what works for Forest learning and nervous, designer learning designer and what works not. Yeah and because these are methods, they also frame a way of thinking. It's a window to certain way to go and they are actually also very normative. They tell already how you should look in a certain way or that was actually also interesting for Peter that he said, yeah. You have this shoot and do, is it methods? Are they designed to do something or are they prescriptions or what we should do this? And there I think a coach is need to be careful because some methods they are developed because they the researchers. They saw, what in practice people do and what works, and what doesn't work, but at the same time in education, Ian it's easily check. Okay. So you should do it like that. Yes. And then I think you don't send the right message also to your learner. Yeah. I'm just wondering like if you're if your students and if you want to learn learn design how do you then find something that's you know that aligns with the kind of designer that you want to know them it's actually not so easy. No, we do ask students that in the assignments for this DTM go. They have to develop what we call a practice manual for the future design practice. So really think about, you know, what they want, their future design, practice to be. Like there was a, there's one thing that that really struck me. When I was listening back to the interview where beats are the student stage. She says that design methods, they're not straight jackets, their life jackets, and that really frames the design method as something for a novice designer when they're stuck, you know, dick. Can hold onto its I'm a well you know. Yeah make sure that they can swim but I was thinking that's not always true because Deeds you know that for young designers that's often very useful but there's many very experienced designers that use design methods all the time and they don't use them like life jackets. For example, thinking of mooses, one of the service design agencies here. We're like really expert in context mapping. Yeah, I don't think they would see that as a life jacket. They're just really experts and using that method. Within their practice and I was wondering in the Dove design. Gout is there like a difference between methods that maybe are more for novice designers and others more for kind of moron generally applicable. Yeah, that's a good question. They're very general methods in the detail design like of observations interviews and in many disciplines they do this. Oh, so that's it's there. It's here to in the Deltas are in guy because many People learned also about how do you do an effective observation or effective interview? So why not learn from others. And I think they are very generic in a way. Maybe some life jackets methods could be some creativity methods that you use, when you stuck, you feel like, yeah, syntactic is not really easy. It's very obvious people like to brainstorm and, but if you want to go deep or you want to read, Stuck where you think? Yeah here we feel there is something else but we want to explore this and then maybe it's kind of Life. Yes. Yeah or decision methods. When you are with a lot of stakeholders and you feel like yeah here we have to convince also stakeholders to make it very clear where I cannot follow just my intuition. Yeah, I was also thinking of the Double Diamonds which for me is a typical more. Life jacket like for novice, Northern office design is that's a really good model to explain to people who've never done design before. That design is very much about exploring the problem space just as much. It's about kind of the creative space. Yeah, but if you compare that model to how expert designers design, they don't design that way. So in another podcast we talked about, you know, how expert designers they they the problem and the solution kind of co-evolve. Yeah. So they don't wait with their solution. So to say until they've done that first, I meant of the Double Diamonds but if, if you're new to design that is impossible because it's such a nonlinear process. So then that's process. I think that method in ways a very useful method to learn how to become a designer. But in that sense, it's it's in a bit of a different category than context mapping, for example, which is a method that, you know, doesn't teach you how to design. She's a really useful way to, you know, to explore the problem space and to go very deep into words. You know, people need and what they dream of. So, and also generative and generative. Yes. Yeah, and yeah, actually, in the day of design guide, we say in the beginning, we explain why this collection of all these methods, why are they here? And then we have we raised three reasons and one is really support people in design so it's helping to realize your design goal. Yeah. The second is to organize your Roses. And the third one is to justify an account for the work to project stakeholders. So, we actually distinguish three reasons. Yes. It's also common language you can you can talk about your what you and why you're going to do something. Yeah. Yeah that's when you want to be paid for it. Yeah. I know you do context mapping and you need to explain also your stakeholders like yeah. Okay this is needed because yes abla. Yeah. And they need to pay you in Practice. Yeah, that's that's what Peter also said, I was talking about externalizing, the information external. Yeah. So there is also. Yeah, in all these methods, there is really some that's also interesting that Peter raises knowledge. There's a lot of knowledge in it that you actually put on the table in cooperation with others. So you're saying it's a way to gain knowledge but also make That explicit in a way that you can share it. And yeah, everyone kind of And so, it's what's going on? Yeah, yeah that's it's not a black box, yeah. That much, yeah, maybe that's why we have more methods in product design compared to other design disciplines because it's mostly collaborative process. So many different disciplines to come to when you're a good guy, okay? So thank you very much. Anamika what was very interesting and looking forward to the new Dove design cow guide