The Dialectical Logic of the Design Problem

What is it about?

This article explains how Hegel can help us understand the logic of design problems. The relationship between a design problem and its solution is a perennial problem in the field of design theory mainly because it is hard to formulate the logical relationship between the two stages. If design problems are by their nature vague, contradictory and incomplete, then how do we deduce a solution from the problem? Why is it that we only seem to understand the problem once we have a solution? This article suggests that we should see this logical relationship through the frame of Hegelian dialectics - a system of logic that relies on contradiction and subjective activity and not just objective deduction. The paper explains how we can understand the dialectical relationship between problem and solution (spoiler: problem and solution are aspects of a single concept) and how the designer achieves the passage from problem to solution through her subjective intervention. The article is challenging but it will reward a little perseverance.

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Why is it important?

This is the first time that the logic of the design problem has been considered from the perspective of Hegelian dialectics (which should not be confused with dialectical argumentation in general) and I believe the approach offers a lot of exciting possibilities with regard to how it could illuminate our understanding of design problems and the subjective activity of design thinking.

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