Personal Meaning Organization (PMO): A Hermeneutic Approach to Design

Abstract

Contemporary design exhibits a transition from the design of objects (as things) towards the design of interactions between subjects and objects (as processes). Furthermore, subjects are no longer considered users, but rather persons (personal identities). These persons perceive what we design from an autonomous self-referred meaning organization, which allows them to make embodied value judgments during the coupling process of interacting with material culture. Hence, for design research, it is essential to interpret these judgements as generative meanings capable of driving design decisions. Personal Meaning Organization (PMO) is a suitable framework to set out interpretative clues and a plausible explanatory model. It is based on early attachment processes understood as nuclear affective interactions that predetermine the organization of meanings within a coherent narrative structure. As we illustrate through a validation process, incorporating PMO into design is a convenient epistemological approach to solve the problem of creating interactions for others.

Keywords:

• personal meaning
• hermeneutics
• interaction
• validation design

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 For a History of epistemology from ancient Greece to the early 20^th century, see Woleński (2004).

2 Although the work by Salazar and Baxter is not directly based on the emergence of meaning, they 'explain how design actually happens in cognitive terms' (2015, 429).

3  As far as we know, Salazar and Baxter (2015, 2018) would be the only authors incorporating Guidano's ideas into our discipline (specifically, his notion of ‘self-in process’).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Álvaro Sylleros

Alvaro Sylleros holds an MA from The Ohio State University. He is currently Associate Professor at the Design School at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. His research interests include strategic design, interactions, personal identities and design validation.

Begoña Taladriz

Begoña Taladriz is a Strategic Designer from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She obtained her degree with maximum distinction. She focusses on design validation and interaction.

Renato Bernasconi

Renato Bernasconi earned his degree in Fine Arts from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He is an Assistant Professor at the School of Design at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and is chief editor of the peer-reviewed journal Diseña.

Francisco Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro, Biochemist and Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences, Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. He is currently the Associate Director of Industrial Research and Development at Centro de Innovación UC.

Rodrigo F. Cádiz

Rodrigo F. Cádiz, Electrical Engineer and Music Composer, earned his Ph.D. in computer music from Northwestern University. He is a professor in the Music Institute and the Department of Electrical Engineering at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He is interested in digital signal processing, new interfaces for musical expression and complex systems.