Fostering a discourse shapes behavior

The shared discourse within a group of designers shapes their actions and manner of working. The discourse is composed of themes and frames and includes “approaches to problems, strategies, particular knowledge, special skills, and a range of possible solutions.”[1]

Within professional design practice, the “discourse” contains the practices and thought patterns that underlie the actions of a group of designers, say in a firm. This pattern is deliberate and humanmade, and it is represented in the environment. When we study top design professionals carefully, we notice that leading designers take great care in developing their own discourse that underpins the manner of working in all the projects in the firm.

[O]utstanding architects didn’t report on directly interfering with the projects; apparently they influence what happens in their firms more subtly. They oversee the building and continuous development of the themes and repertoire of frames that together make up the discourse of the firm. … It contains strategic statements on the kinds of knowledge and abilities that must be brought together by the management to set the scene for projects, ensuring that they are in line with the company’s “philosophy.”[2]

It is this range of effectiveness and ability in handling problem situations that distinguishes expert designers, as they are “not approached by clients for the skills that they possess (these are often widespread) but for their approach to problem situations.”[3]


#cognition #design

See also:


  1. Frame Innovation – Dorst (2015), ch. 3, § “Five lessons from design.” ↩︎

  2. Ibid. ↩︎

  3. Ibid. ↩︎