When theory and practice are united in one person, the ideal condition of art is attained, because art is enriched and perfected by knowledge.
a design credo or design position is a set of beliefs that is used by designers in the ideation and production of their work. often this kind of discussion ends up in some kind of debate about style. it is the objective of this discussion to avoid this outcome. instead, this credo concentrates on more fundamental issues of design that transcend style or profession, while remaining relevant to the design of both artifacts and edifices, inside and out.
the articulation of my design position is perhaps best presented through a personal anecdote. my credo was central to my first design experience at cornell. in preparation for the inaugural visit of a new advisory board in the fall of 1998, each of the faculty was asked to provide a written respond to the question "why am i here" and to represent some of these ideas through visual media.
my text response was a play-on-words: "resolve to re-solve". this simple phrase expresses three major ideas i hold central to my view of design. first, i see design as a problem-resolving activity, not a problem-solving activity. the latter interpretation implies a correct answer. design is about judgements, not answers. secondly, there is not much difference between producing a bad design and a good design. they both must go through similar processes of conception, modeling, and realization, involving considerable investments in time and energy. the real difference between a bad design and good design lies in the resolve of the participants to push a little harder to find a better resolution. finally, this statement reflects my sense of urgency for reconstructing the design professions to better resolve the strained relationship between the natural and built environments. the intersection of these three ideas produced a word game that translates into "a determination to design well". this is my "modus operandi" whether concerned with the design of artifacts, edifices, or curricula.
the second half of this project was to visually represent the central notions embedded in the text. i did this with three simple bas-relief squares. the first composition was a piece of maple tree bark serving as a host to a variety of mosses. it was entitled "sensa". this was meant to represent not only the re-engagement of our senses to the natural world, but also the crucial role of the sensuous in design generally. the second composition was a translucent computer disk, entitled "logica". this was to draw attention to the central role that information and knowledge plays in the design process. the third composition was a piece of anodized aluminum used for offset printing. it shows a piece of a plan view of the architectural model in my office. this is entitled "poetica". this panel represents my view of design, as a fusion of feeling and of information, dedicated to the provision of enhanced meaning and performance while aware of its socio-cultural and ecological impacts.
in an effort to design well, to design poetically, requires a consistency in both thought and action. this consistency comes only through periodic self-examination of an individual's ideas and values. this is especially important for those who are the position of passing their ideas and values onto others. this leads to my position statement on education.