Supporting Design Dialogue through a Communication Framework Using Four Layers of Abstraction

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe and discuss a proposed framework that enables and encourages a robust communication context for the design process. Sustainability can be seen as a wicked problem, therefore creating, maintaining and managing a consensus during the design process is a necessary requirement. Consequently, dialogue is central to this. The framework proposes the use of four different layers of abstraction of information in order to facilitate the creation of shared meaning through dialogue. The four levels selected for this model are: the meaning level, the semantic level, the syntactic level and the artefact level. Communication modalities and the types of concepts are different at each level. The necessity for this framework stems from the wide range of emerging approaches to design and their myriad connections to the notion of sustainability. The proposed framework fosters the creation of a platform that allows exchange, evolution and synthesis.

Keywords:

• communication
• meaning
• design dialogue
• emergence
• reflection

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Spyros Bofylatos

Spyros Bofylatos is a PhD candidate in the Department of Products and System Design Engineering of the University of the Aegean with a degree in Design Engineering. His research interests include design for sustainability, social innovation, craft, coDesign, open design, service design, critical thinking and disruptive practices. His work is based on creating meaningful dialogue between the theoretical framework, physical artefacts, products of the design process and the society in which those ideas manifest.

Thomas Spyrou

Thomas Spyrou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering. His main interest is to research and to apply systems theories and approaches to real-world scenarios, especially in the case of information systems and services for human activity systems. He has over 20 years of teaching experience in systems design, theories and methodologies of design, as well as various areas of human-computer interaction. He has been director or executive member of technical committees for the design of large-scale network and services infrastructures such as University of the Aegean network, Greek Secondary Educational network, Greek Universities network and Greek Research and Technology Network. He has served as part of the Ministry of the Aegean’s Think Tank. He has directed and participated in a substantial number of projects both funded nationally, and by the European Union. He has published in scientific journals and participated in conferences, in the areas of information systems design, holistic systems design, artificial intelligence, decision support systems, intelligent tutoring systems, simulation and security.