Introduction
Designers don’t write; they draw, they model, they make things.
We are all familiar with this tired claim. The work speaks for itself
is another version of the same argument. Despite the eloquence and
undeniably positive impact of much design work, there are good
reasons to challenge the model of the competent but silent designer.
In today’s global community exposure to evidence-based solutions
and innovative new proposals occurs in a multitude of ways. Con-
versations about values, techniques and evidence unfold within
communities marked by dramatically different levels of design
literacy and social imagination. The absence of an informed and
articulate design perspective in important international forums is
a matter of concern.
A case in point: in December 2015 delegates from 195 nations
signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The Paris Agree-
ment calls upon signatory parties to actively address climate change
by promoting “sustainable lifestyles and sustainable patterns of
consumption and production” and “to address gaps and needs, les deux
current and emerging, in implementing capacity building in devel-
oping countries.” Clearly there is an important agenda for design
ici. While there is much to celebrate in these laudable goals, it is
distressing to note how marginal the concept of design appears to
be in the global conversation and the associated body of support-
ing scientific and technical literature surrounding the Paris Agree-
ment and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Changement. The word design is almost totally missing from the lexicon
of scientists and political leaders concerned with climate change.
The absence of a design sensibility results in stunted conversations
and myopic proposals for pressing global issues such as climate
changement, social justice, and sustainable economic development.
Where it does appear, the word design is usually subordinated to
the language of policymaking and the drafting of regulations as in
the phrase “the design of new policies.” This subordination occurs
despite that the design community is a rich and dynamic repository
of experiences, recherche, des produits, tools, and visions that range
from the local to the global in scope.
Each issue of Design Issues provides evidence of such a claim
and this issue is no different. Some articles address issues and con-
cerns that resonate with those raised in the Paris Agreement. Marc
Steen writes about capacity building and design for wellbeing;
Heather McKinnon talks about changing patterns of energy con-
sumption; and Anna Plazowska reviews Al Goowan’s biography of
est ce que je:10.1162/DESI_x_00411
© 2016 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Les problèmes de conception: Volume 32, Nombre 4 Autumn 2016
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Victor Papanek—an early and influential advocate for socially and
environmentally responsible design. Other articles in this issue
enrich and refine our understanding of design itself either through
reflections on design process, discussions of significant themes, ou
essays that probe particular aspects of design work. Derek Ham
writes about the role of play in the creative process; Per Liljenberg
Halstrøm explores how designers communicate the values that
shape their work; Damla Tonuk probes the often subtle ways in
which materials shape product designs. Catherine Moriarty focuses
on the way we research and represent networks of relationships;
Arden Stern explores how type designers construct a provocative
dialogue between the recent past and the distant past; and Sebnem
Timur Ogut reviews the Museum of Innocence in Istanbul, Turkey
and introduces the reader to Orhan Pamuk’s multi-layered treat-
ment of the intersection of the “real” and the “imaginary” in the
pages of his eponymous novel.
In order to exercise its distinctive voice and to participate
effectively in global efforts to confront the daunting challenges and
exciting opportunities of our times, the design community must
express itself in as many different ways as possible. The nature of
global conversations today requires plural forms of engagement.
Donc, we must model and make and research and write;
contribute to the design of policies, as well as the design of artifacts;
and empower people for the long term, as well as equip them for
the present. From evidence-based forms of argument, to crusading
calls for meaningful and achievable change, to celebrations of our
collective imaginations and the human spirit, the design commu-
nity has much to contribute to the global conversations that literally
shape our world.
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Bruce Brown
Richard Buchanan
Carl DiSalvo
Dennis Doordan
Kipum Lee
Victor Margolin
Ramia Mazé
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Les problèmes de conception: Volume 32, Nombre 4 Autumn 2016
In Memoriam
Ken Isaacs (1927–2016)
The editors of Design Issues regret the passing of Ken
Isaacs, architect and designer of the “Knowledge Box,»
“Micro House,” “Living Structures,” and many pieces
of furniture. Ken was named Professor Emeritus after
30 years of teaching in the Department of Architecture
at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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Les problèmes de conception: Volume 32, Nombre 4 Autumn 2016
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