Einführung - Am MIT spezialisierte KI-Forschung

Einführung

Since its inception more than three decades ago, the editors of this
journal have conceptualized Design Issues as a forum for the
exchange of ideas, insights, reflections and provocations concern-
ing the nature of design considered through the lens of history,
theory and criticism. Contributors shared with readers a commit-
ment to enlarging the discussion beyond a narrow treatment of
design as the aesthetic styling of industrially produced objects.
This ambitious goal of reframing the way design is thought about
is one of the distinguishing features of the design discourse this
journal has tried to nurture. But the spatial metaphor of the journal-
as-forum at times seems too static to capture the dynamism of
contemporary conversations about design. The journal-as-highway
interchange may be a more appropriate way to conceptualize both
the intersection and the divergence of different avenues of inquiry.
At first glance the articles collected for this issue certainly appear
to drive the reader in different directions: the nature of creativity
(James Wang); the evolving materiality of the environments we
inhabit and the products we use (Elvin Karana, Owain Pedgley, Val-
entina Rognoli); the mental images we construct of physical artifacts
such as books (Pino Trogu); the early days of numerically controlled
computational design (Daniel Cardoso Llach); the tension between
freedom and control embedded in gaming design (Raiford Guins);
biomimicy as a sustainable design strategy (Emily Kennedy, Daphne
Fecheyr-Lippens, Bor-Kai Hsiung, Peter Niewiarowski, Matthew
Kolodziej); and controversy mapping as a research technique (Tom-
maso Venturini, Donato Ricci, Michele Mauri, Lucy Kimbell, Axel
Meunier). A simple list like this can seem bewildering in its variety.
What holds an issue of the journal together? The answer begins, Wir
glauben, with the fact that each of the contributors goes beyond mere
reportage to search for the principles and patterns that shape action
and mark design as a distinctive form of human engagement with
both the natural and the social worlds. This common quest pursued
in different ways is one of the things that sustains design discourse
and creates the community Design Issues serves.

One characteristic of a mature community of discourse is the
recognition of singular voices that constitute important points of
reference for the community. These are designers, scholars or com-
mentators whose work is often understood initially as a response to
a particular context or historical moment. But their insights and
arguments endure and continue to provoke discussion, continue to

doi:10.1162/DESI_e_00333

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pose questions that require answers. John Heskett is one such
figure. The Autumn 2014 issue of this journal included a simple
Testament to John Heskett, one of many tributes and memorials
that appeared in the design press following his passing. This issue
includes a fascinating document: a section of Heskett’s course notes
from the final iteration of his famous graduate seminar Design and
the Creation of Value. Clive Dilnot’s introduction explains the origin
of these notes and positions Heskett’s work within a larger under-
standing of design discourse. John Heskett made a seminal contri-
bution to reframing our understanding of design and expanding
the boundaries of design discourse far beyond styling. We bring
Heskett’s previously unpublished notes to the attention of our read-
ers not because we believe they represent the final word on the topic
but because they constitute a perceptive and provocative reference
point for discussions of an important aspect of design.

This issue concludes with two intriguing reviews. Craig
Martin examines the new, expanded edition of Charles Jencks
and Nathan Silver’s Adhocism: The Case for Improvisation and explores
its curious relationship to contemporary design movements that
seek to empower non-designers. Karin Nugis reviews the recent
exhibition “Fashion and the Cold War” at the Kumu Art Museum
in Tallin, Estonia, and the accompanying book Mood ja külm sõda
[Fashion and the Cold War]. Nugis suggests the kinds of insight
fashion design offers into central themes of the Cold War. Rezensionen
like these alert readers to new lines of inquiry, fresh voices and pro-
voke conversation.

Bruce Brown
Richard Buchanan
Carl DiSalvo
Dennis Doordan
Victor Margolin