This website is the product of MDes Thesis research by University of Alberta student Robert Andruchow. It provides a brief summary of the research, information regarding a workshop based on the research and most importantly is a space for designers to discuss the definition of design.

Research Abstract

A significant part of a discipline’s maturing process is the development of philosophic foundations. These foundations help define central concepts, scope of the field and evaluation criteria. According to several prominent design researchers, largely from the applied arts tradition, the discipline still has considerable work to do to establish these foundations.
The first foundational task – definition of central concepts – is the focus of this research. How one defines central concepts or the field itself is still very contentious. Although it is well documented that “design” is a highly ambiguous term which is problematic for the field as a whole, some designers are resigned to this fact since it is unclear how one can resolve differences of opinion about what such a central and sensitive term means.

Through this thesis research, I have developed and tested a framework and workshop to assist design researchers, educators, practitioners and those in related fields to design with the complex yet foundational task of defining design.

Robert Andruchow
MDes Thesis
Visual Communication Design
Department of Art & Design
University of Alberta
Co-Supervisors: Aidan Rowe & Sue Colberg