The isomorphic model, designing as knowledge creation

Abstract

Designing is a fundamental activity that supports the introduction, development and implementation of products, services, practices and systems. In the Architectural domain, design facilitates the process of developing a solution to reallife problems through a collaborative process of refinement, analysis, synthesis, assessment and evaluation between expert and novice designers or students and tutors. The potentials of this collaborative process lie above architectural practice and education but it is also a process of knowledge interaction, development and integration. However, the concept of design as knowledge creation is under-researched. Greater understanding of the methods, strategies and tactics employed by designers in facilitating design activities will be the focus of this study in uncovering certain unique characteristics of knowledge creation adopted from Nonaka (1994) in design. Design and knowledge creation processes are collaborative facets that facilitate the creation, sharing and conversion of knowledge, artefacts and product. Some literature has mentioned a link between design and knowledge creation but, to date, there is no provision of substantial properties that prove the isomorphism between them. This research conducted a retrospective analysis of fifteen weeks of design activities between seven design students and their design tutor working together to solve a given design task. The research used observation and subject interviews to validate the observed data. Findings in the studies have explained there exists a link between the two domains. The Socialization, Externalization, Combination and Internalization (SECI) model of knowledge creation and the Analysis-Synthesis Bridge Model are used as a benchmark for the study. Four collaborative features of the design process describe the link between the two domains. Experience and Imagining (E.I), Imagining and Sketching (I.S), Sketching and Modelling (S.M) and Models and Experience (M.E) comprise the four identified features. Using these features, the study has been able to adopt the SECI model to uncover the Isomorphic position of design and knowledge creation.