Title: Rethinking Design History from an Evolutionary Perspective
Abstract: This paper argues for the significance of a Darwinian evolutionary perspective for design history. From such a perspective, artifacts are viewed as manifestations of ideas which are replicated and propagated, in other words as memes. Good designs are not ideal forms, but fitting forms which have evolved through adaptation processes within particular social, economic and technological contexts. I argue that such an evolutionary understanding would suggest rewriting design history in order to accommodate a wider conception of the nature and role of artifacts. The potential implications for design education and design praxis might be groundbreaking. They are illustrated by discussing the anti-star approach and the Open Source model.
Publication Year: 2005
Publication Date: 2005-11-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 3
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