THE DESIGN PROCESS

Determine elements to use and arrange them onto patterns

through the process of design.
although presented as a linear series of steps,
the design process is more often a cyclical,
careful analysis,
synthesis,
and evaluation of available information,
insights and possible solutions is repeated until a
successful fit between what exists and what is desired is
achieved.
The design problem is first defined.
define and understand the nature of the design problem is
an essential part of the solution.
this definition should specify how the design solution will
perform and what goals and objectives will be met.

THE DESIGN PROCESS

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Identify client needs.
Who, what, when, where, how,
why?
Set preliminary goals.
Functional requirements
Aesthetic image and style
Psychological stimulus and
meaning

ANALYSIS
analysis of the problem requires to be broken down into
parts,
issues clarified
and values assigned to the various aspects of the problem.
also involves gathering relevant information From the
outset, knowing what limitations will help shape the design
solutions.
Any givens what can change and what cannot be altered
Any financial, legal or technical constraints that will
impinge on the design solution should be noted.
Through the design process, a clearer understanding of the
problem should emerge.
new information may develop that could alter our
perception of the problem and its solution.
the analysis of a problem, therefore often continues
throughout the design process.

PROGRAMMING
What exists?
Collect and analyze relevant
information
Document physical/cultural context
Describe existing elements
Whats desired?
Identify user needs and preferences
Clarify goals
Develop matrices, charts and
adjacency diagrams
Whats possible?
What can be alteredwhat cannot?
What can be controlledwhat
cannot?
What is allowed.. What is prohibited?
Define limits: time economic, legal
and technical

Analysis

SYNTHESIS
From the analysis of the problem and its parts, we can
begin to formulate possible solutions.
This requires synthesizing bringing together and
integrating responses to the various issues and aspects of
the problem into coherent solutions.
Design requires rational thought based on knowledge and
gained through experience and research.

Also playing equal roles in the design process are

intuition and imagination, which add the creative dimension
to otherwise rational design process.

There are several approaches one can take to generate

ideas and also synthesize possible design solutions:

Isolate one or more key issues of value or importance

and develop solutions around them.
Study analogous situations that could serve as
models for developing possible solutions.
Develop ideal solutions for parts of the problem
which could be integrated into whole solutions and
tempered by the reality of what exists.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
Brainstorms ideas
Diagram major functional and spatial
relationships
Assign values to key issues or
elements
Search for ways to combine several
good ideas into a single better one.

Manipulate the parts to see how a

change might affect the whole.
Look at the situation from different
points of view.

Draft a concept statement.

Verbalize the principal design ideas in a concise manner.
Develop schematic designs
Establish major functional and spatial relationships.
Show relative sizes and shapes of important features.
Develop several alternatives for comparative study.

EVALUATION
Design requires a critical view of alternatives
and careful weighing of the strengths
and weakness of each proposal
until the best possible fit between problem and
solution is achieved.
Given a range of possible solutions,
each must be evaluated according to the criteria
set forth in the problem statement
and further clarified in the problem analysis.
Successive explorations of the problem
and the evaluation of alternative solutions should help
narrow the choices for design development.
While the initial stages of the design process
encourage divergent thinking about the problem,
this latter phase requires a convergent focus on a
specific design solution.

COMPARE ALTERNATIVES
Compare each alternative with design goals
Weigh the benefits and strength against the coats and
liabilities of each alternative
Rank alternatives in terms of suitability and effectiveness.

EVALUATION

MAKE DESIGN DECISIONS

Combine best design elements in to the final designs
Draw preliminary plans
Construct scale drawings
Show important interior architectural details (e.g.Walls,
windows, built in elements)
Show furniture if appropriate.
Make preliminary material selections
Develop alternative color and finish schemes
Collect material samples
Make preliminary furniture and lighting selections
Prepare presentation to client for feedback and preliminary
proposal.

IMPLEMENTATION
Once a final decision has been made the design proposal
is developed,
refined
and prepared for implementation.

This includes the production of construction drawings

and specifications
and other services related to purchasing,
constructions and supervision.
No design process is complete until a design solution that
has been implemented is evaluated for its effectiveness in
solving a given problem.
critical appraisal of a completed design can build up our
knowledge base, sharpen our intuition
and provide valuable lessons that may be applied in future
work.

DEVELOP AND REFINE DESIGN

Develop plans, elevations, sections and details
Develop specifications for interior finish materials,
furnishings and lighting.

IMPLEMENT DESIGN
Prepare constructions drawings
Finalize specifications for interior finish material furnishings
and lighting.

REVALUATE COMPLETED DESIGN

Design reviews
Coordination wit architect, engineers and consultants
Client feedback
postoccupancy evaluation

GOOD AND BAD DESIGN

One of the ideologies of the design process is that it does
not always lead simply
and inevitably to a single,
obvious,
correct answer.
In fact there is often more than one solution to a design
problem.

How then can we judge whether a design is good or bad?

A design may be good in the judgment of the designer,
the client or
the people who experience and use the design,
for any of several seasons:
A design may be good because it functions well it works
a design may be good because it is affordable it is
economical. Efficient and durable
A design may be good because it looks good it is
aesthetically pleasing
A design may be good because it recreates a feeling
remembered from another time and place it Carries
meaning.

At times we may judge a design to be good because we

feel it follows current design trends
or because of the impression it will make on others it is
in fashion or
it enhances our status.
As these reasons suggested there are several meanings
that can be conveyed by a design.
Some operate at a level generally understood and
accepted by the general public.
Others are more readily discerned by specific groups of
people .
successful designs usually operate at more than on
level of meaning and thus appeal to a wide range of
people.

A good design therefore, should be understandable to its

audience.

Knowing why something was done helps to make a design

comprehensible.
If a design does not express an idea ,
communicate a meaning,
or elicit a response ,
either it will be ignored
or it will appear to be a bad design.