Developing a Personal Philosophy as a Designer - A Research Process

Part 1: To What End?

Adapted from Robinson and Parman (2010), this activity will help you to understand the research process while developing a personal philosophy by contemplating the answers. The activity is divided into four parts, which you can expand upon by using the questions as cues. You may wish to start a journal or sketchbook to note your thoughts. The assignment requires clear focused thought so you may wish to choose your environment carefully. First write down initial thoughts that come to mind for each question and later you can return to refine your answers. Part 1: TO WHAT END? What are my objectives as a designer? Start by describing where you want to end up or what your goals are as a designer? The rest of your philosophy statement (Parts 1-4) should support those goals. Your objectives as a designer should relate to your overarching goal, be achievable and relevant to issues of design today. Vague or overly grandiose statements should be avoided however, you should try to demonstrate that you strive for more than mediocrity or more than just nuts-and-bolts solutions to design problems. What is your problem-solving strategy?What do you believe are your responsibilities as a designer: to the client, to the user, to society as a whole? Have you read philosophical discussions in journals, or books that speak to you about the shortcomings or needs of the world that you would like to address? If so, include some of those insights. Part 2: BY WHAT MEANS? How do I accomplish these objectives?When you have a clear idea about your objectives or goals as a designer, you can discuss the method that you want to use to achieve those objectives. Here is where you display your knowledge of design theory. You will want to explain specific strategies, techniques, tools, methods, and approaches tying them directly to your design objectives and explaining how each approach accomplishes that objective.Here your might discuss how you make decisions about design principles such as form, balance, contrast, hierarchy, harmony, or unity. Consider which principles of design are most important to you and your design objectives.OCAD UNIVERSITY 100 McCaul Street Toronto, Ontario M5T 1W1 T: 416 977 6000 F: 416 977 6006 WWW.OCADU.CA Articulate your ideas by relating them to precedents and examples where you have found the same methods applied to design projects you admire. You could even include images of other designers’ work at this point, further supporting your ideas. Don't limit yourself to a local perspective here, but think nationally, internationally or even culturally as you search to identify how you will accomplish your design objectives.Part 3: TO WHAT DEGREE? How do I measure my success? Discuss how you intend to measure your success? If you have successfully applied the methods you outlined, how do you know when you have accomplished your design objectives? What is your scale of measurement? Is it the grade you get in class? Is it the opinion of others? Is it the response of the client or the end users? Is it the aesthetic appeal to a certain group, such as your client, users, teachers, professional critics, or your peers? Who decides whether you have identified the correct design problem and solved the problem successfully? Exposing our designs to the subjective opinion of others can be a touchy subject, so it is important to establish your own criteria for success and achievement of objectives. What are your assessment methods?