In a forthcoming paper that will be published in Design Issues this year, we set out an argument to deconstruct the conceptualization of design framing in design theory and consequently establish its essentially political nature. The paper demonstrates the positionality inherent within frames insofar as frames articulate subordinated or dominant social status, or express normative understandings until challenged. In doing so, we build a conceptualization of the political foundations of design framing practices and their implications for those contexts within which design operates. Consequently, we argue for dissensual counter-framing design practices that unsettle institutionalized norms and ideologies played out within frames, and through which a form of political agency is sociomaterially enacted.
Prendeville, S., Syperek, P., Santamaria, L., On the Politics of Design Framing Practices, Forthcoming, Design Issues. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2134/19043348
Image: A gable view of anarchist architect Walter Segal‘s self build homes located in South London
Design Dissonance 