Transitional design histories (PhD Project)
What could histories of design be like, if they were to take a
starting point in today's practices of designing? Could other
kinds of design histories make visible some of the past
and current ideas that shape not only how design is perceived, but
how it is done? And further: Could such historical inquiries
allow us to broaden the perspectives on the past in order to not
only make sense of the present, but to critically question core
concepts, methods and frameworks in design in order to open up for
other possible ways of doing design?
In my dissertation, defended in September
2020, I argue that for history to matter more to design,
we need design histories that take a starting point in matters of
concern in today's design practices. Such histories could draw
attention to how the historicity of designing impacts the
situations that established and emerging design practices seek to
engage with. Design has, over time, been thought, articulated,
framed and practiced is ways that by now are embedded in the
methods and concepts used in designing today. As such, the
historicity of designing then will afford and support certain ways
of designing, and not others. These kinds of design
histories are proposed to be transitional, in the sense of
supporting shifting the positions from which designing can be
viewed, and questioned. As design and designing changes, the
histories of design are also transitional -- and provisional -- in
that they are meant to be fluid and changing, rather than
stabilising and fixed in providing stories of what design 'is' or
'has been'.
Three core concepts in the tradition of Scandinavian
user-centered design are taken as the starting points for examples
of design histories approached from perspectives of designing,
e through studies of texts and archival material relating to
Swedish 20th century
domestic reform discourse. The concepts of
'participation', 'users' and 'methods' as applied in Scandinavian
user-centered and participatory design practices here serve as
lenses for proposing design histories that bring to the fore some
pf the underlying and often invisible assumptions and norms which
can limit or restrict the kinds of designing made possible within
these practices. At the same time, applying these perspectives in a
Scandinavian context also sheds light on a hitherto fairly
invisible history: how the conditions for the emergence of
participatory design came about in Scandinavia. I
investigate ideas and methods that today are an integral part of a
'Scandinavian user centered design', and discuss how these still
carry with them norms, values and practices linked to the specific
historical contexts that these once emerged in.
My supervisors were Johan Redström, UID, and Kjetil Fallan,
University of Oslo.
Areas of interest
Design history, design theory, design studies, user-centered
design, participatory design, material culture, semiotics,
aesthetics.
Publications
