WHAT IS THE
NATURE AND
INTENDED USE
OF DESIGN METHODS?
COLIN M. GRAY | Purdue University

courtesy of Juhan Sonin: https://www.flickr.com/photos/juhansonin/7797009214
What are design methods in their essence?

courtesy of Juhan Sonin: https://www.flickr.com/photos/juhansonin/7797009214
what is the epistemology and ontology of methods?
how does this knowledge relate to design activity?
what knowledge does a design method contain?
What are design methods in their essence?

THE PROPOSITION
While methods themselves may act as reifications of explicit
design activities, expressed in an objective or objective-like
form, the objective description of a method is not
equivalent to the enactment of, use of, or cognitive
processing of that method in a performative sense. (p. 3)

ACADEMIA PRACTICE

ACADEMIA PRACTICE
methods are
attached to
assumptions of
holism and
scientific rigor
methods reflect
a desire for
generative and/
or instrumental
output

1970 2010s

Jones, 1992, p. 48

Design
Activity
ACADEMIA
less rigorous than
prescribed method
PRACTICE
reduced complexity
for ease of
communication
(see Gray, Stolterman, & Siegel, 2014)

“ingredients” and
“meals,” not “recipes”
(Woolrych et al., 2011)
“designerly tools”
(Stolterman et al., 2008;
Stolterman & Pierce, 2012)
competence
(Gray, 2014)
Design
Activity
(see Gray, Stolterman, & Siegel, 2014)
ACADEMIA
less rigorous than
prescribed method
PRACTICE
reduced complexity
for ease of
communication

THE ARGUMENT:
IN THREE PARTS

THE ARGUMENT:
IN THREE PARTS
PERFORMANCE1 PRESCRIPTION2
PRODUCTIVE TENSION3

THE ARGUMENT:
IN THREE PARTS
PERFORMANCE1 PRESCRIPTION2
PRODUCTIVE TENSION3

PERFORMANCE1
1. In situ design activity
2. A next step is needed (e.g., a way to think differently, communicate,
extend, collaborate)
3. A method is selected, created, or adapted based on its perceived salience
to the design context (i.e., from a pastiche of lived experience and
available or known tools)
4. A method, set of methods, or appropriation of method(s) is enacted or
performed until its utility has been achieved or exhausted
5. The enactment or performance of a method (ideally) has some
perceptible impact on the design situation (e.g., a new insight, validation
of a previous hunch, raising consciousness of previously tacit ideas,
realization a concept in a new form)
6. In situ design activity continues
genericsequence

PERFORMANCE1
1. In situ design activity
2. A next step is needed (e.g., a way to think differently, communicate,
extend, collaborate)
3. A method is selected, created, or adapted based on its perceived salience
to the design context (i.e., from a pastiche of lived experience and
available or known tools)
4. A method, set of methods, or appropriation of method(s) is enacted or
performed until its utility has been achieved or exhausted
5. The enactment or performance of a method (ideally) has some
perceptible impact on the design situation (e.g., a new insight, validation
of a previous hunch, raising consciousness of previously tacit ideas,
realization a concept in a new form)
6. In situ design activity continues
genericsequence
which method?
how to apply the method in a unique context?
when does the method conclude?
and to what end?

METHOD = SHORTCUT
PERFORMANCE1
CONTROLLED BY A DESIGNER
SHAPED & DISTRIBUTED AMONG
STAKEHOLDERS

THE ARGUMENT:
IN THREE PARTS
PERFORMANCE1 PRESCRIPTION2
PRODUCTIVE TENSION3

PRESCRIPTION2
INPUT
from previous
design or research
METHOD NAME
OUTPUT
that feed into
future design
moves
PRESCRIBED
ACTIVITY
steps or actions to
be performed
representationalstructure

PRESCRIPTION2example
INPUT
filter previously
collected data
AFFINITY DIAGRAMMING will…
OUTPUT
elucidating themes
and generating
insights
PRESCRIBED
ACTIVITY
through clustering
or sorting

METHOD = BLUEPRINT
PRESCRIPTION2
WITH AN IMPLICIT OR EXPLICIT
GUARANTEE OF RIGOR OR
LEGITIMACY

THE ARGUMENT:
IN THREE PARTS
PERFORMANCE1 PRESCRIPTION2
PRODUCTIVE TENSION3

PERFORMANCE PRESCRIPTION
as blueprint
for activity
as shorthand
for more
complex activities

METHOD = SCRIPT
PRODUCTIVE TENSION3
DESIGNERLY TOOL FOR GETTING
WORK DONE, WITH AN IMPLIED
“CORE” OF DEFINED OR
POTENTIAL USE

THANK YOU
Portions of this work are supported by National Science
Foundation (NSF) Grant Award No. #1115532.
My sincere thanks to Erik Stolterman and Elizabeth Boling.
COLINGRAY.ME