02 Einführung 5/20/01 10:55 PM Page 1 - Am MIT spezialisierte KI-Forschung

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Einführung

Design Issues serves as a forum for the presentation of diverse
perspectives on design. The table of contents offers the reader an
initial indication of the material collected in each issue. While the
simple list of authors and titles with page numbers found on the
table of contents page is a straightforward exercise in information
Design (WHO, what and where) it remains a superficial account of an
issue’s contents. Familiar categories such as design history, educa-
tion, theory, and criticism can be imposed quickly on the material as
the reader begins the process of organizing the issue for his or
herself. On a deeper level, Jedoch, the multiple themes that consti-
tute the particular discourse of each issue emerge only as the reader
makes his or her way through the articles. At this stage the efficacy
of established categories is called into question. Claire Badaracco’s
article on George Salter’s book jacket design executed during the
period 1925–1944, Zum Beispiel, initially appears to be a contribution
to design history. Like Rob Roy Kelly’s account of the early years of
graphic design education at Yale University, Badaracco’s article
prompts the reader to reflect upon significant episodes or experi-
ences in the evolution of modern design. Yet her description of a
book jacket as a bridge between the book and its audience, one that
belongs simultaneously “to the interpretive level of the book and to
the market forces that lead to the production of its meaning as an
objective text” opens up potential connections with other articles in
this issue. Peter Lloyd and Jerry Busby’s report on how engineers
employ language and Keren Smith’s article on stage design for clas-
sical drama, like Badaracco’s essay on Salter, seek to identify the
multiple ways designers negotiate the intersection of intention and
reception. The depth of this discussion is barely hinted at in the
simple list of the table of contents. An editorial such as this serves to
alert the reader to the deeper level of connections and content that
imbue each issue with its own character. In this issue the reader will
encounter thoughtful discussions of epistemological, methodologi-
cal, and ethnographic approaches to design studies. Beyond the
description of particular products and reflections on diverse forms
of process, Richard Buchanan essay “Human Dignity and Human
Rights: Thoughts on the Principles of Human-Centered Design”
addresses the fundamental question of purpose in design. In an issue
that also includes a book review of Steven Heller’s chilling study
The Swastika: Symbol Beyond Redemption? Buchanan’s call to consider
the ends as well as means of design merits serious attention.

Richard Buchanan
Dennis Doordan
Victor Margolin

Designprobleme: Volumen 17, Nummer 3 Sommer 2001

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