Comments on: Reflexivity in Design Practice

By: Al Gammate

Al Gammate — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:35:32 +0000

Hello Ethan:

I enjoyed reading your article entitled “Reflexivity in Design Practice.”

I agree that the practice of reflexivity occurs naturally in design practice.

Though there may be many people involved in creating an object design, everyone involved affects the object design and the object design, in turn, affects everyone involved.

One may be wondering “Okay, it’s obvious that everyone involved affects an object design; but how does the object design affect everyone involved?”

The answer is simple.

Any defects or negative attributes of an object design will cause everyone involved to try to eliminate these defects or negative attributes. And any advantages or positive attributes of an object design will cause everyone involved to try to enhance these advantages or positive attributes.

Reflexivity isn’t turned on or off at will. Instead, it’s a natural part of the human condition!

By: Ethan Eismann

Ethan Eismann — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:43:52 +0000

It’s true, my post analyzes an individual designer’s process and practice. Furthermore, it’s doesn’t comment on the greater team processes related to design (that wasn’t the point of the post).

In my experience, I have worked with designers who create no less than 4 alternatives per each design problem, and iterate on each to develop their recommendation. I have also worked with designers who create only one solution and don’t iterate at all. The former is obviously the preferred practice.

One final note, the reflexive process should be a part of every stage in the design practice, the sketching, the modeling, the concept-mapping, etc. In a sense, it’s being reflexive that defines - to a certain extent - one as a designer.

By: Andrew Hobson

Andrew Hobson — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:07:23 +0000

I think you’re putting far too much emphasis on the design as the result of one persons process. That one person does something, presents it as a solution, the world reacts and ‘the’ designer alone makes changes to what he hears and sees. This seems incredibly simplistic and overlooks that designers work in teams, they rarely ‘commission’ the design, almost never own the business case, and overlooks the likelihood that someone else probably realizes the ‘object’ — an engineer, a printer, a manufacturing plant. You seem to be suggesting that design is an indeterminate process that is an endeavor making and presenting solution after solution after solution — one which may be right sooner rather than later, or later rather soon. Isn’t this an art process not design? Given that fact that designs are more often than not way bigger than one person, aren’t you over looking a fundamental need to break design problems down by sketching out pieces, build models and try things out.

Thinking about the later, I find it ironic that you state that iteration is often overlooked. By who? The designer, the greater team, or the world at large? I think no designer overlooks iteration (if they do I would contest they are not a designer.) The problem arises when the greater team and the world at large doesn’t allow for iteration and ignores design process of sketching, modeling and trying things out. Something you seem to be overlooking by suggesting designers solely create final designs, present them as such and then observe they’re not.

By: Ethan Eismann

Ethan Eismann — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:30:57 +0000

Both reflexive and iterative design practices should occur. In my experience, reflexive design practice helps the designer mold the design solution into something better, faster. By being reflexive, the designer is able to take a step back from the design, and respond to it with improvements or variations, even before presenting it to peers or users.

So in a sense, reflexive is a design process within iterative.

By: pedro

pedro — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 09:51:42 +0000

You are mostly talking about iterative design, not reflexive.
“Of course feedback and questioning should come from other sources - peers and users especially.” - that’s how it should be, not reflexive