Design’s most valued qualities – imagination, craft, criticality – are being quietly stripped out as the discipline is sandboxed and packaged up. What happens when design forgets how to imagine?
When design forgot how to imagine
Tag: design thinking
Neither design nor thinking: the transformation of design into meaningless ritual
Design has never been more visible – yet rigorous design practice is increasingly absent. This post examines how design thinking and its offshoots hollowed out the discipline, replacing craft, critique, and accountability with process, abstraction, and performative mediocrity.
Design is not going to save the world: we’re good – but not that good
Design's storytelling is compelling yet can oversimplify its role, risking diluting the practice and reducing its criticality. The belief in universal grand narratives about design can undermine professional practice, while reliance on reductive methods can flatten creativity. Design should focus on its specific, contextual influences rather than claiming to resolve all societal issues, promoting clarity over inflated narratives.
Re-evaluating graphic design’s influence on Design Thinking
There has sometimes been a disparity in graphic design's treatment, and an oversimplification of its scope, often focusing on aesthetics over its strategic application. Recognising its dynamic evolution and influence is essential for the broader field of design, as well as design thinking.
Whatever happened to design by committee & when did designers start welcoming stakeholder participation anyway?
Design by committee versus co-design? The changing narratives and practices of design in the 21st century have moved the goalposts with regard to designer—stakeholder participation. This has been influenced by technology companies and design thinking practices. However, there is some skepticism necessary with regard to the benefits of these practices…
Communication & Graphic Design Research 
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