RESHAPING COMMUNICATION DESIGN TOOLS
During the last thirty years the level of interest in Complexity Science has been constantly increasing. Combining the opportunity offered by the findings of the Complexity Science with the framework of the multi-disciplinary debate on the meaning and use of diagrams, we propose a design methodology to help designers support their interventions in complex environments.
The structural features analysis of Complex Systems has been our key point to outline a methodology to offer designers a new mindfulness in the use of design tools. This methodology is based on five phases: analysing, representing, pinpointing, timing and telling. It provides a theoretical framework that incorporates many tools suggesting a different use of them with a special attention to improve the designer’s consciousness of the system he is designing in.
When design is addressing complexity, diagrams could become generative tools that can be used to produce metadata relevant to the design process.
Have a look here
Have a look at the presentation
I have to say that the paper is an interesting starting point to discover and improve a new approach that could be used to understand processes and learn from their investigations, mainly in networked areas.
In terms of pratical approaches, it could be remembered that infovis design is mainly related to following a similiar methodology where every aspect of a complex system is always analized and “interreputed” by users’ and designers’ interactions on them.
It also interesting to discover the power of giving such methodology not only to designers’ usage, but also to the stakeholders.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:03 pm