Design as bricolage: anthropology meets design thinking

Abstract

We identify a metaphor for the design activity: we view design as bricolage. We start from describing bricolage, and we proceed to the relationship of design to art. We obtain a characterisation of design that enables us to show that both traditional and contemporary design are forms of bricolage. We examine the consequences of 'design as bricolage' for the relationship between design and science and for the extent of the design activity.

Cultural change in the creative industries: a case study of BBC graphic design from 1990–2011

“…There is a danger that creative industries can forget the lessons of the past, and that experience is devalued in cost cutting measures in an attempt to make the workforce more economic. The role of the designer can be seen as a bricoleur, not simply to solve a problem as a scientist might, but to enrich our experience of life, humanise it with a sense of enjoyment and pleasure by using materials that lie within a tradition (Louridas 1999). Tradition is like a bridge that is continually being built that never reaches the other side: a 'bridge between memory and imagination' (Negus & Pickering, 2004: 104).…”

Big Data in Organizations and the Role of Human Resource Management

“…Although the analogy 'from nothing' is unclear within an organization, as some resources will be re-allocated, those resources, in this case often people, will be used in a different context and environment. Organizations are forced to improvise, fixing things, or designing new things (Weick 1993, Louridas 1999). Weick describes the need for such bricoleurs and their ability to improve and redesign organizations with the following reasons:…”

Engineering Design Education and Time Management

“…The sketches are progressively refined, and eventually 'rendered' (drawn and coloured, and/or modeled by computer or in tangible materials) into visually assessable presentation material, full artistic views of the proposed artifact, to provide a 'final' presentation, for management approval. Louridas [6] describes such designers as bricoleurs [7] or tinkerers who collage divergent ideas to form a product. Considerations of engineering take place if necessary, but often at a rudimentary level.…”