RSD5 symposium green modern banner

Papers

Form Follows Meaning, Meaning Follows Form: Surrendering the Innocence of Design

Format: Papers, RSD5, Topic: Sociotechnical Systems

Perin Ruttonsha

Creativity is a loaded concept, which we seem to assign unconditional merit. The danger in this arises when the allure and momentum of creative processes obscure underlying project agendas. If we consider designed images, products, and environments to be part of the broader cultural setting, then designers are accountable for the paradigms that we enable through our work. As systems-oriented designers, we cannot hide behind the agendas of our clients; rather, we must view each project as a powerful act of cultural meaning making, in which we share creative agency. In this paper, we will briefly examine how changes taking place within the field of design may ultimately influence what we construct as our experienced realities, and also how the positioning of creative practices within a socio-economic system can determine how they are employed in cultural production.

Citation Data

Author(s): OCTOBER 2016
Year:
Title: Form Follows Meaning, Meaning Follows Form: Surrendering the Innocence of Design
Published in: Proceedings of Relating Systems Thinking and Design
Volume:
Article No.:
URL: https://rsdsymposium.org/
Host:
Location:
Symposium Dates:
First published: 20 September 2016
Last update:
Publisher Identification:

Copyright Information

Proceedings of Relating Systems Thinking and Design (ISSN 2371-8404) are published annually by the Systemic Design Association, a non-profit scholarly association leading the research and practice of design for complex systems: 3803 Tønsberg, Norway (922 275 696).

Attribution

Open Access article published under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International License. This permits anyone to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or form according to the licence terms.

Suggested citation format (APA)

Author(s). (20##). Article title. Proceedings of Relating Systems Thinking and Design, RSD##. Article ##. rsdsymposium.org/LINK

Publishing with RSD

Proceedings of Relating Systems Thinking and Design are published online and include the contributions for each format.

Papers and presentations are entered into a single-blind peer-review process, meaning reviewers see the authors’ names but not vice versa. Reviewers consider the quality of the proposed contribution and whether it addresses topics of interest or raises relevant issues in systemic design. The review process provides feedback and possible suggestions for modifications.

The Organising Committee reviews and assesses workshops and systems maps & exhibits with input from reviewers and the Programme Committee.

Editor: Cheryl May
Advisors:
Peter Jones
Ben Sweeting

The Scholars Spiral

In 2022, the Systemic Design Association adopted the scholars spiral—a cyclic non-hierarchical approach to advance scholarship—and in 2023, launched Contexts—The Systemic Design Journal. Together, the RSD symposia and Contexts support the vital emergence of supportive opportunities for scholars and practitioners to publish work in the interdisciplinary field of systemic design.

The Systemic Design Association's membership ethos is to co-create the socialization and support for all members to contribute their work, find feedback and collaboration where needed, and pursue their pathways toward research and practice outcomes that naturally build a vital design field for the future.

SDA MEMBERSHIP

Verified by MonsterInsights