This document provides an overview of ideas and approaches used in design. It discusses several topics: 1) Research methods like using libraries, traveling, asking questions, and testing prototypes. Biomimicry and emulating nature is also discussed. 2) Design processes like considering function, materials, fabrication, and values. Nature is seen as the ultimate source of design inspiration. 3) Tools that enable complex tasks and extend human capabilities. Transformation of materials from mere matter to something greater is explored. 4) Variation, deformation, and thinking in series to investigate themes through focused iterations that maintain similarities.

1. CHAPTER
2IDEAS AND APPROACHES

2. Introduction
Research
Natalie Jeremijenko. Tree Logic. 1999. MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA.
Artists, designers, and
architects research in a variety
of ways, some similar to the
humanities:
• Using the library or the web
to investigate a specific topic
• Traveling to places, near and
far
• Asking questions and
conducting experiments

3. • Biomimicry is a discipline in which engineers,
scientists, and designers research and emulate
nature’s designs and processes to create products,
solutions, and strategies to solve human problems.
Introduction
Research
• Subjecting prototypes of
products to testing provides
valuable information for
improving performance.
Cervelo bicycle in wind-tunnel test.
Tube-shaped dwelling of sandcastle worm

4. These forces can include:
• Function
• Fabrication process
• Material use
• Maker’s values and
sensibility
Jean Prouvé. Standard chair. 1950.
Introduction
Process
Biologist D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson said,
“In short, the form of an object is a diagram of forces…”
Gaetano Pesce. Golgotha Chair. 1972. Dacron filled
and resin soaked fiberglass cloth,
3' 3” x 1' 6 1⁄2 ” x 2' 3 3⁄4 ".

5. Process
The Vessel
Receptacles and containers are archetypal
forms, extending back to prehistory.
Common processes used to create vessels:
Ceramics:
• Pinching together flat slabs at their joints
• Stacking coils
• Throwing on a potters’ wheel
• Pouring slip (liquid clay) into molds
Glass:
• Spinning molten glass on a rod as air is blown
into it
• Pouring molten glass into molds
One example of a newer material:
•Using air pressure to blow plastics into molds
Glassblower at Waterford Crystal, Ireland.

6. Process Nature
All matter, organic and inorganic is generated and shaped by forces, conditions,
and processes. In this sense, nature might be seen as the ultimate designer as well
as the first and foremost source of design inspiration—the design school without equal.
Bruce Barnbaum. Hollows and Points, Peach Canyon. 1984. Photograph.

7. Tools enable us to perform special and complex tasks that would
otherwise be impossible.
•Levers and pulley systems to lift heavy weights
•Axes, planes and chisels for cutting material
•Lenses to bring distant objects near and make small objects appear large
•Molds for replicating forms
•Computers to make huge calculations instantly.
Paleolithic stone hand ax. Traditional jack plane. Peck Tool.
Tools
Extending Capabilities

8. The requirement that raw material
be transformed, changed from
mere matter to something greater
is a commonly accepted notion in
the arts, in both historic and
contemporary work.
From marble, Gian Lorenzo Bernini
created realistic muscles, veins and
even the pressure of a intense grip.
The material no longer seems hard
and cold, but has been
transformed to appear warm, soft
and life-like.
Transformation
Transcending Physicality
Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The Rape of Proserpina (detail
of Pluto’s hands). 1621–22. Marble, height 9 2/3’ .
Galleria Borghese, Rome.

9. Tara Donovan’s Haze appears to be a cloud-like formation, but is actually made from plastic
drinking straws.
Transformation
Transcending Physicality
The requirement that raw material be transformed, changed from mere matter to something
greater is a commonly accepted notion in the arts, in both historic and contemporary work.

10. Variation and
Deformation
Altering Form
The painter Jasper Johns suggests,
“Take an object. Do something to it.
Do something else to it. Do
something else to it.”
Henri Matisse. Back I.
1909. Bronze.
Variation and Deformation
Creating several similar iterations
can:
• Result from experiments to find
the correct solution.
• Show various related themes or
points of view.
• Explore an evolution of style or
process.
• Rethink or reinvent a established
forms or pre-existing elements.
Henri Matisse. Back II.
1913. Bronze
Henri Matisse. Back III.
1916–1917. Bronze
Henri Matisse. Back IV.
1930. Bronze

11. Thinking in
Series
Focused
Investigation
Each element in a series
varies from the others while
maintaining a distinct
similarity. Series allow
creators to investigate issues
more deeply than a single
work would permit.
In the arts and design, a
series can be based on:
• A theme or concept
• A form
• A process
• An idea
Sol Lewitt. Incomplete Open Cubes. 1974.

12. In the previous slide, Sol Lewitt’s conceptual sculpture includes 122 cubes based on
mathematical variations in construction.
Roxy Paine’s sculptures at the lower left use a process that relies on a modified industrial
extruding process and a set of computer instructions
Thinking in Series
Focused Investigation
Roxy Paine. Eight sculptures

13. Conceptual Strategies
The Idea Becomes A Machine That Makes the Art
“In conceptual art the idea or concept is the
most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a
conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions
are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair.” – Sol Lewitt
Wim Delvoye. Cloaca. 2000.

14. Play, Invention, Problem Solving
Discovery
Let my playing be my learning, and my learning be my playing. — Johan Huizinga
Play and Invention
Artists and designers perform acts of serious play in order to arrive at new discoveries or to
discover objects in our environment and utilize them in new ways.
Alexander Calder with his Cirque Calder (1926–1930).

15. Problem Solving
Innovation and
invention are achieved
via numerous paths:
• Brainstorming
• Breaking down large
problems into small
discrete units
• Lateral thinking to
avoid the obvious direct
approach
• Research that
investigates existing
solutions to related
problems
Play, Invention, Problem Solving
Discovery
Let my playing be my learning, and my learning be my playing. — Johan Huizinga
Richard Notkin. Heart Teapot: Compassion. 1993. Ceramic, 6" h.

16. Simplicity
Reductive Sensibility
Minimalist sculptors like Donald Judd clearly made pure form—devoid of figuration and
decoration—the central focus of their attention.
Donald Judd. Untitled. 1989. Two plywood units, 1' 7.69" °x 3' 3.37" °x 1' 7.69" each.

17. Simplicity
Reductive Sensibility
Economy of means raises the
question “what is essential?”
This idea manifests itself in
both simple and complex
forms.
Perfection is reached not when
there is nothing more
to be added but when there is
nothing to be taken
away.
—Antoine de Saint Exupery
Robert Maillart. Cement Industries Hall. 1939. Zurich, Switzerland.

18. Sketching, Model Making and Prototypes
Ideation
Models that are reduced in scale are termed maquettes.
Prototypes are unique objects that are full-scale working models of the
product being designed.
• They can be used and tested for effectiveness.
• Often, a number of prototypes are produced in succession, each attempting
to improve an aspect of the previous one
David Smith assembling liquor boxes as models for his sculptures. David Smith with completed sculptures Cubi IV and Cubi V.

19. Detail
Close Attention
Totalizing Details, Precision and Appropriate Craft
God is in the details.
—Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Observing and
interacting with
designed objects and
buildings in which
primary form is in
synch with minor
characteristics can be
exhilarating.
It is not enough to
have a good idea if it
is executed without
precision and
appropriate craft.
Frank Lloyd Wright. Robie House, dining room. Chicago, IL.

20. Meaning and Value
An Interpretive Act
Meaning
• A notion assigned to objects by viewers, not simply something that is built into objects.
• Is also relative—it varies from culture to culture and changes over time.
Improvised shrine in Golden Gate Park. Photographer: Susan Spann.

21. Meaning and Value
Value
• Refers to the significance of an object.
• It is also relative and it is up to every individual to formulate a personal value system.
Jessica Hiltout, photographer.
Nelito’s Ball. Nhambonda, Mozambique.

22. Sources
Nature
Art Nouveau, a style
of design popular at
the turn of the 20th
century, found
inspiration in organic
form. The design of
the Art Nouveau
ornamental
ironwork at right is
derived from plant
forms and the
exuberant, twisting
patterns of growing
tendrils.
Hector Guimard. Entrance gate of Castel Berenger, Paris. 1898.

23. Sources
Geometry and Mathematics
Geometry and Philosophy
God always geometrizes.
—Plato
The five Platonic solids of geometry are of special historical importance.
Five Platonic Solids

24. Sources
Geometry and Mathematics
Geometry and Mathematics in Nature
Forms that reveal a marked mathematical and geometrical structure are also widely
evident in nature. There are countless examples: crystals, sunflowers, bubbles, rainbows,
growth patterns, spiral nebula, and DNA’s double helix.
Honeycomb and honeybee

25. Sources
Geometry and Mathematics
Geometry and Mathematics in Nature
• Rectangles with a 3 to 5 ratio are known as golden rectangles
• The 3:5 ratio is the golden mean (symbolized by the Greek letter ø)
• A series of consecutively smaller golden rectangles can be placed to describe the path of
a golden spiral. The golden spiral is the spiral of the chambered nautilus, and many
other spirals found in nature.
The Fibonacci series is created by adding two consecutive numbers together to create
the next. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, etc.
Golden Spiral in golden rectangle Chambered nautilus, cross section

26. Sources
Culture
Culture is increasingly
understood to be all the customs
and products of human beings—
from the traditionally defined
fine arts and literature to
everyday cooking and dating
rituals.
Vernacular describes commercial
architecture and products as
sources.
Ready-mades were invented by
Marcel Duchamp and are
described as art made from
ordinary manufactured objects.
Andy Warhol. Brillo Boxes. 1964. Synthetic polymer paint
and silkscreen on wood, each 1' 5 1⁄8” x 1' 5” x 1' 2".

27. Worldview
Belief Systems
Particular individuals, groups, and professional disciplines within a culture
develop their own philosophical views—attitudes that shape everything they
create. This Bauhaus chair was designed during a time of economic difficulty,
leading to an economy of material and process.Marcel Breuer.
Club chair. 1927.

28. Worldview
Modernism
Modernism is a historical period of art and design that is
characterized by an interest in:
• Science and progress
• An international style
• The “working masses”
• Industrial processes
• A Utopian world
• Rationality and the grid
• A “less is more” philosophy
Donald Judd. Untitled. 1980. Steel, aluminum and perspex, 9” x 40” x 31".

29. Worldview
Postmodernism
Although the exact nature of
postmodernism remains vague, it is
considered the Zeitgeist (defining
spirit) of the contemporary world.
As a reaction to modernism,
postmodernism is the thought that
recombining existing ideas is all
that is left for us and is
characterized by:
• Irony
• A “More is more” philosophy
• Multiplicity and an interest in
overlooked cultures
• Working in different styles
simultaneously
• Appropriation, or recombining
of ideas and images from
popular media
James Miller. Duct Tape Chair. 2006. Cotton/wool upholstery and leather over a
wood frame, 2' 5" h.