GENERIC DESIGN SCIENCE
Charles François (2004). GENERIC DESIGN SCIENCE, International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(1): 1419.
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1419 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
The global science of design.
J. WARFIELD states: “Generic Design Science is the whole of design science. It is comprised of all the specific design sciences and the Generic Design Science (itself), serving the universe of design activity. At the present times this concept remains unrealized” (1994, p.20).
The following is a summary by WARFIELD on G.D.S.:
- “Generic design refers to the development of outcomes that necessarily are present in the design of anything. Specific design refers to the development of outcomes that necessarily are present for a single design, or for members of a small class of designs.
- “When design aims to resolve complexity, the generic outcomes may often affect thousand or millions of people; hence the route to their development should be based in a science that is responsive to the demands of complexity.
- “Generic design is such a science. It incorporates the foundational, theoretical and methodological components that any science ought to exhibit (if only for purposes of facilitating its integration with other sciences, when aggregation is needed to serve application)…
- “Because it offers transparency, and evaluative criteria, it is well positioned for assessment and improvement. Because it offers Laws of Design, it gives focus to constraints that will, if allowed to do so, degrade design activity, and lead to disasters” (1995e, p.8).
Generic Design considers the ways designers do design as related to psychological and conceptual aspects, as well as the difficulties proper to design in the general and in specific cases. It adds new dimensions to design and contributes to the management of complexity.