OVERVIEW

Design methodology emerged in the 1960s as an independent scientific discipline. This chapter looks to the theory of design methodology as a source of inspiration to understand the basic concept of design in the most general context. The objectives of the chapter are:

• To understand the basic characteristics of design processes;

• To understand the elements of designs;

• To understand the factors that affect design processes and outcomes.

The chapter is organised as follows. Section 1.1 gives a brief introduction to the notion of design. Section 1.2 examines the main characteristics of design activities in the creative processes of design. Section 1.3 considers designs as plans to produce man-made artefacts, and identifies the essential elements of all designs. Finally, section 1.4 presents Mayall s axioms of design to outline the basic relationships between various issues involved in every design.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The word design as defined in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (1987) has the following meanings. As a noun, it means:

1. A drawing or pattern showing how something is to be made;

2. The art of making such drawings or patterns;

3. The arrangement of parts in any man-made product, such as a machine or work of art, as this influences the product s practical usefulness;

4. A decorative pattern, esp. one that is not repeated;

5. A plan in the mind.

The word design is also used as a verb with the following meanings.

1. To make a drawing or pattern of (something that...