Worldmaking: Working through Theory/Practice in Design

Abstract

This article argues for an active role for theory in designing, especially feminist theory and cultural studies, both as a means of theorizing design through the work of designers and as a means of reflecting on the complex contexts in which designing takes place and designs take hold. This has particular relevance in the participatory and user-centered frameworks increasingly favored in design practices and education. Changes in design methods, the emergence of "design thinking" in a range of fields including but not always linked to design, and the growth of contemporary "social design" over the past two decades have greatly shifted design practices and contexts.