Basic Concepts of Design
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.