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Design as Debate: The Thing Beyond the Object

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The In-Discipline of Design

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Abstract

This chapter introduces political philosophy – in particular Habermas’s theory of communication – and critical design. From the point of view of design, the question is how stakeholders organize a debate around their production and how it sustains the generativity of the design project. In this respect, designers not only produce objects, but produce “things” whose identities are in question, hence the need for expansive debates that contribute to the invention. Chapter Six examines three examples that shape the way artists, designers and researchers challenge their own perception and that of their users and audiences.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Hippel (2006) and Baldwin et al. (2006).

  2. 2.

    Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004).

  3. 3.

    Zwick et al. (2008).

  4. 4.

    Sanoff (2000), Cross (1971) and Battarbee and Koskinen (2005).

  5. 5.

    Ingi Brown.

  6. 6.

    Luck (2003).

  7. 7.

    Lyotard (1984).

  8. 8.

    Agre (1997).

  9. 9.

    Boehner et al. (2005).

  10. 10.

    Gaver and Dunne (1999).

  11. 11.

    Gaver et al. (2004).

  12. 12.

    http://www.auger-loizeau.com/index.php?id=9

  13. 13.

    Gaver et al. (2010).

  14. 14.

    http://www.biojewellery.com/ (accessed in 2015, no longer accessible)

  15. 15.

    Le Masson et al. (2017).

  16. 16.

    Koskinen et al. (2011).

  17. 17.

    Gentes (2001).

  18. 18.

    In fact, the messages were screened by the author before being posted to eliminate any racist or pedophile messages.

  19. 19.

    The artist had started the whole project by receiving emails and posting them himself, but finally received too many of them and developed an application so that people could directly submit their message.

  20. 20.

    Gentes (2007).

  21. 21.

    Stallabrass (2003).

  22. 22.

    In an interview with the author.

  23. 23.

    Stallabrass (2003).

  24. 24.

    These reasons are published and discussed in a number of press articles: Les Inrockuptibles, Digipress, Libération. See Bertrand Gauguet, « Les secrets censurés de Nicolas Frespech ou comment Je ne suis plus un site », in Archée, avril 2002, http://archee.qc.ca. Voir aussi le récapitulatif de l’histoire de cette œuvre sur: http://www.20six.fr/lessecrets/

  25. 25.

    http://www.advancedinformatique.com/article.php/id/29

  26. 26.

    http://www.archee.qc.ca/ar.php?page=article&no=181

  27. 27.

    http://www.bugbrother.com/article185.html

  28. 28.

    http://www.le-national.com/frespech022002.html

  29. 29.

    http://www.visuelimage.com/ch/frespech/index.htm

    Je ne suis plus un site/ I am no longer a website

    http://www.uzine.net/breve656.html

    “Net art ta gueule

    Jeudi 20 décembre 2001. Même situation au 10 janvier 2002

    « … Ce site est. actuellement “prêté” et présenté sur le site de l’Ecole nationale des Beaux Arts de Lyon, dans le cadre de l’exposition “dévoler” qui a été organisée cet été.

    http://enbalyon.free.fr/frespech/index.html

    J’aimerais donc que vous m’aidiez à comprendre les vraies raisons de cette nouvelle forme de censure. Espérant que cette mauvaise expérience pourrait nous permettre de réfléchir sur les enjeux de l’art en ligne, du politique dans les choix artistiques, et espérer aussi un nouveau statut pour les “cyberéalisations”.

    Vous pouvez me contacter à cet E.mail: immonde@cicv.fr

  30. 30.

    http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Frespech

  31. 31.

    http://www.art-outsiders.com/archives4/default.htm

  32. 32.

    Becker (1982).

  33. 33.

    Saper (2001).

  34. 34.

    Saper (2001).

  35. 35.

    Grenier (2008).

  36. 36.

    Hymes (1974).

  37. 37.

    Gentes (2003).

  38. 38.

    Simondon (2001–2016).

  39. 39.

    Transhumance, January 2007.

  40. 40.

    Project ANR Transhumance, mail sent to the research team who works on the version n 770 of a Nokia tablet, January 2007: « Bonjour à tous, Pour info, des nouvelles du N800, la nouvelle tablette internet de Nokia.http://www.clubic.com/actualite-67883-n800-nokia-tablette-internet.html Et voilà, on est. sur du matériel obsolète!;-) A bientôt ».

  41. 41.

    Star and Griesemer (1989) p. 412.

  42. 42.

    Ibid., p. 413.

  43. 43.

    Interview of one of the researchers involved in both projects, 2008.

  44. 44.

    Smith (2009).

  45. 45.

    Smith (2009).

  46. 46.

    Simakova (2010).

  47. 47.

    Newton (2004).

  48. 48.

    Eckert and Stacey (2000).

  49. 49.

    Smith (2009).

  50. 50.

    Newton (2004).

  51. 51.

    Simondon (2001–2016).

  52. 52.

    Configurations, 2003, dossier « l’ethos scientifique : autorité, auctorialité et confiance dans les sciences », Le Marec, J., Babou, I., 2003, « De l’étude des usages à une théorie des « composites » : objets, relations et normes en bibliothèque », in Souchier, E., Jeanneret, Y., Le Marec, J., (dir.), 2003, Lire, écrire, récrire – objets, signes et pratiques des médias informatisés, Paris, BPI – Centre Pompidou, pp. 233–299.

  53. 53.

    Coleridge (1985).

  54. 54.

    Transhumance, interview with M. « La surface est. moins sensible que le Palm, il faut taper plusieurs fois pour entrer l’info » interview with P. « l’image était bonne mais il ne la voulait pas », interview with MB. « L’image n’apparaît pas comme validée si je suis très rapide ». interview with M. “je ne peux rien lire à cause du soleil”

  55. 55.

    Transhumance, interview with M « Valider une image. Mais ce n’est. pas une tâche en soi, elle n’apporte rien au jeu ». MB« ce qui me manque c’est. la carte finale »

  56. 56.

    Fallman (2008).

  57. 57.

    Ibid.

  58. 58.

    Dunne (2008).

  59. 59.

    Ibid.

  60. 60.

    Ibid. introduction p. XVI.

  61. 61.

    Ibid. preface p. XII.

  62. 62.

    Gaver (2012).

  63. 63.

    James Auger at RCA, or Alex Taylor at Microsoft research Cambridge for instance see EEAST, 2010, Practicing science and technology, performing the social, Trento, Italy

  64. 64.

    http://www.biojewellery.com/ (accessed in 2015- no longer accessible)

  65. 65.

    “Biojewellery is a collaborative project involving Tobie Kerridge and Nikki Stott, design researchers at the Royal College of Art, and Ian Thompson, a bioengineer at Kings College London, its aim is to bring the medical and technical processes of bioengineering out of the lab and into the public arena”.

  66. 66.

    See also Tobie Kerridge’s PhD thesis: Designing debate: the Entanglement of Speculative Design and Upstream Engagement, Goldsmith College, July 2015.

  67. 67.

    http://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/

  68. 68.

    [1] ‘Knowledge Exchange between Academics and Business, Public and Third Sectors,’ Maria Abreu, Vadim Grinevich, Alan Hughes and Michael Kitson, uk-irc, (PDF)

    [2] ‘Excellence in Science: Survey of factors affecting science communication by scientists and engineers,’ The Royal Society, 2006, (PDF)

    [3] ‘Report and action plan from the Science for All Expert Group,’ BIS, 2010, (PDF)

    [4] ‘Public Culture as Professional Science: Final report of the ScoPE project (Scientists on public engagement: from communication to deliberation,’ Kevin Burchell, Sarah Franklin and Kerry Holden, September 2009, (PDF)

  69. 69.

    Jeanneret (1994).

  70. 70.

    Jenny Hogan, Cultured bone offers novel wedding rings, New Scientist, 26 February 2005

    http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18524884.900

  71. 71.

    http://envisiontec.com/products/3d-bioplotter/

  72. 72.

    http://www.biojewellery.com/project2.html (accessed in 2015 no longer accessible)

  73. 73.

    Gentes and Mollon (2015).

  74. 74.

    Koskinen et al., Design Research Through Practice.

  75. 75.

    Bardzell and Bardzell (2013).

  76. 76.

    Bardzell et al. (2013).

  77. 77.

    Seago and Dunne (1999).

  78. 78.

    Rickenberg (2008)

  79. 79.

    Morello (2000).

  80. 80.

    Manzini (2009).

  81. 81.

    Hatchuel et al. (2014).

  82. 82.

    Dourish (2004).

  83. 83.

    Höök et al. ii, (2003).

  84. 84.

    Boehner, critical technical practice.

  85. 85.

    Armytage (1966).

  86. 86.

    Auyang (2006).

  87. 87.

    Agre (1997)).

  88. 88.

    Agre (1997)).

  89. 89.

    Agre (1997)).

  90. 90.

    Beck (1992).

  91. 91.

    Lyotard (1979).

  92. 92.

    Habermas (1985).

  93. 93.

    Rochlitz (1998).

  94. 94.

    Genette et Goshgarian (1997).

  95. 95.

    Schaeffer (2000).

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Gentes, A. (2017). Design as Debate: The Thing Beyond the Object. In: The In-Discipline of Design. Design Research Foundations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65984-8_6

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