Design and Society: Social Issues in Technological Design

Springer Verlag (2017)
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Abstract

This book discusses concepts of good design from social perspectives grounded in anthropology, sociology and philosophy, the goal being to provide readers with an awareness of social issues to help them in their work as design professionals. Each chapter covers a specific area of good practice in design, explaining and applying a small set of related concepts to a series of case studies, and including a list of additional sources recommended for further study. The book does not assume any specialized, technical background knowledge; it is not a how-to book that offers technical instruction. Yet, it focuses on the assessment of designs, addressing concepts qualitatively. Based on an established university course on Design and Society at the Centre for Society, Technology, and Values that the author offers for students from a variety of disciplines, the book represents a valuable resource for students in engineering, architecture and industrial design – helping prepare them for careers as design professionals – and for all readers in design-related professions interested in understanding a side of design that they may well never have considered systematically. Because of its broad scope and non-technical presentation style, the book may also appeal to general readers interested in social issues in design and technology.

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ISBN(s)

9783319525143   3319849212   331952514X   3319525166

DOI

10.1007/978-3-319-52515-0
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Chapters

Social Contract

One of the limitations of rational design as a model of good design is that it omits moral considerations. Recall Dieter Rams’s view that good design is aimed at making the world more humane. This criterion is not about how optimal a design is in the achievement of its function but rather about the ... see more

Progress

One of the central features of good design relates to the concept of progress. That is, people expect that designs will improve over time, so that later designs tend to be better than earlier ones. Technical progress is often associated with innovation, as discussed earlier. However, there is also t... see more

What Is Good Design?

The concept of good design is discussed, especially in the area of consumer products. The minimalist views of noted industrial designer Dieter Rams are explored, as explained in his essay Omit the unimportant. In this view, emphasis is placed on simplicity, as reflected in the values of importance, ... see more

Sustainability

Any current discussion of good design includes sustainability. In its most basic sense, sustainability refers to our ability to maintain and develop our lifestyle or civilization in the long term. In this sense, sustainability may be understood instructively as a progress problem of the type discuss... see more

Social Psychology

From the standpoint of Herbert Simon’s model of rational design, good design is a matter of expertise. That is, the more expert designers are, the more closely they approximate the ideal of rational design. There are many forms of expertise. One kind of expertise that is relevant to social aspects o... see more

Fairness

Moral assessment of designs may proceed by analysis of risk distributions to which they give rise. A complementary approach involves an application of the concept of fairness. Here, fairness refers to moral problems involving the resolution of conflicts of interest between social groups. Such a conf... see more

Culture

Besides expertise in social psychology, expertise in culture may contribute towards the aim of good design as rational design. Culture involves the kinds of expectations that people in a given social group have about appropriate thinking and behavior. There are at least three ways that knowledge of ... see more

Social Spaces

Activism involves the view that good design may involve the pursuit of social justice. A significant domain for the application of social justice is in social spaces. Social spaces are places, public or private, where sizeable groups of people, who may not be known to each other, may meet or interac... see more

Style

Almost any discussion of good design includes considerations of style. Style often refers to the relationship between the appearance or form of a design and its function. There is much controversy over what constitutes good style. A reductionist view is that good style is just the same as good desig... see more

Risk

In terms of social contracts, designs may be assessed according to how well they respect people’s rights and how well they promote social justice. One limitation of this approach is that it omits the importance of prediction in design assessment. That is, designs are configured according to assumpti... see more

Rational Design

Instead of viewing it as a professional pursuit with a central, social mission, good design may also be viewed as a technical exercise in optimal problem solving. This understanding of good design is the dominant perspective in most engineering and other technical programs. Decision theorist Herbert... see more

Social Agendas

A social contract defines a body of rights that people respect in order to share resources and collaborate in a mutually beneficial way. Sometimes, social contracts are embodied explicitly in laws. However, social contracts are often implicit and may originate from many sources. One such source is d... see more

Activism

As noted in the discussion of social agendas, good design sometimes implies designs that legislate, as it were, a social contract. Some social agendas are distinguished by their activism, that is, their aim to change the existing society in a significant way. Activism in design often displays a purs... see more

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