Abstract

The author proposes a rational approach to design problems which would overcome intuitive, ingenious-idiosyncratic approaches, and which would consider a design not only by itself but in relation to the entire context of neighboring forms and of human needs. In a design problem, the "form" is that sector over which we have control; the "context" is a complex given into which the designed thing must achieve a "good fit." The author shows that theory is well suited for analyzing the great mass of needs and possibilities which the designer faces. An interesting contrast is outlined between "unselfconscious cultures," where designers are agents of tradition, and self-conscious cultures", for which the past is not an authoritative guide. The author's theory is beautifully illustrated by means of a "worked example," showing the formulation of a design of an Indian village. While the theory is most immediately applicable to architecture, it works along the whole spectrum of design-tasks, from tea-pots to towns and beyond.—C. D.