Tag: Richard Buchanan

  • Thesis Paper Presentation Celebration!

    My thesis paper presentation was today, and all went well enough. Though I think I confused a few people, and took some heat from Richard Buchanan, who ask if the design knowledge embodied in the knower is not just habit. The answer, of course, is no. But that’s all behind me, and a bit of…

  • How Designers Think

    Yes! Yes! Yes! No, this post is not about sex. It’s about Bryan Lawson’s How Designer Think, which is an orgasm of design process and thinking. On nearly every page I found an idea I could relate to as a designer and often thought the book should be required reading for those entering design. If…

  • Starting to Think About Theses

    Monday we had a meeting regarding choosing a thesis project and paper for the upcoming year. Over the course of the next month, it was suggested we start talking to faculty to see where there is a synergy in interests. Currently, I have no clear thoughts about what I will do for my thesis. I…

  • Pluralism and Objectivity

    My graduate seminar class with Dick Buchanan ended yesterday. For this last class, we discussed pluralism and objectivity, which Buchanan states as the fundamental problem of design. Why is it a problem? There is no subject matter in design. Designers make their subject matter. “This is a very peculiar thing,” Buchanan says. I agree. And…

  • Practicing Design on Wicked Problems

    In response to a previous comment, I tried to define what an interaction designer does in rebuttal to the assertion that the goal is to build a better mousetrap. I wrote: From an interaction design standpoint, you might ask why we have mousetraps? Are mice the real problem? How do mice get into areas where…