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AHO WORKS StudieS 2011-2012
Institute of Design
Can Designers Design Anything?
This has resulted in many exciting outputs
where master-level students have demonstrated
very rapid learning processes that made them
able to open up new design fields.
The problem with designing anything is
the lack of information, knowledge and skills
that are specific to the area. To address this
problemwe have developed a very fast learn-
ing process, conducted in a designerly way
through GIGA-mapping. These learning pro-
cesses help designers achieve an overview, to
define insufficient knowledge where support
from insiders and experts would be needed.
In the case of a lamp design the problem was
the material, in this case, porcelain. The stu-
dent had no prior experience with the mat-
erial and the ambition was to finish the lamp
within months. An impossible task said the
expert. Porcelain is a very difficult material
which it takes years to learn. With the rapid
learning process and the expert network in
place, the student succeeded within the giv-
en time. This is an example where a designer
under certain circumstances and with a tar-
geted process and suitable approach can cross
specialties in design.
When entering totally new fields where the
designer and sometimes even the design field
would not have any prior expertise nor patterns
or best practices to rely on, the task is more
challenging. In the project
Design for Dignity
in a Sexual Violence Response System
(Manuela
Aguirre Ulluoa & Jan Kristian Strømsnes, 2012)
the students approached an emergency hos-
pital for sexual assault victims. The project is
presented elsewhere in this book. They inves-
tigated what designers could contribute to this
organisation where designers have been limit-
ed to designing facilities and objects, without
having a direct role in the organisation. The
project began with a very intensive inquiry
that included GIGA-mapping, conversations,
field work and workshops for codesigning and
information mapping. The results were three
systemic interventions on different scales. The
positive response demonstrated that design-
ers can enter new ground, gain the needed
knowledge and overview as well as the needed
interaction with experts to produce innovative
interventions and open up the organisation or
field for design.
Rather than quarrelling about the ques-
tion we intend to demonstrate an approach
and practice that makes the designer able to
enter ever new areas for designing in both a
humble and courageous way. If we manage to
develop this expertise further and our pro-
cesses become sufficiently good and flexible
we might reach a point where we can claim:
Yes, designers can design anything.
