by victoria | Sep 15, 2012 | design methodologies
Hugh Dubberly talks about the shift in design that is occurring at this time in history. In a similar fashion to the entry of the industrial age we have now shifted into the information age. What does this mean to the designer? Dubberly begins the article by discussing the shift from mechanical ethos to that of an organic ethos. In the technical mechanical ethos age – we become reliant on machinery and technology. Perhaps too much so. Technology keeps changing the way we live, communicate, how we perform our work and how we design. We have placed a great deal of emphasis on the tools of design. Trying to place graduates has led to the act of beefing up tangible workplace skills – predominantly software that gives voice to the design. Couple the emphasis on software as design with the availability of anyone to have and use software the field has found itself in need of rejuvenation. An infusion of purpose beyond the artifact. Technology remains necessary. Dubberly states this, “But computer-as-production-tool is only half the story; the other half is computer-plus-network-as-media.” [1] He goes on to say that the output of design is changing the way that we view the practice of design. Dubberly’s description of networking, process flow and information processing brings to mind the blood system of humans. Dubberly draws this contrast, “The eras are framed as stark dichotomies to characterize the nature of changes. But experience is typically more fluid, lying along a continuum somewhere between extremes.” [1] He even talks about how we refer to instances of computer malfunctions as bugs, attacks as viruses, and so forth. Notice a trend in the language? What is this...
