The emergent grammar of design
UX London recently asked me, “What is the most-often overlooked or misunderstood aspect of design and why?”
That it has a beginning and an end, when, in fact, it is emergent. Design has this kind of emergent grammar defined both by those who create it and by those who use and enjoy it — as systems, as products, as services.
I answer this question differently every time. There are too many misunderstood aspects, perhaps, to fit into one neat answer. But consider this one: the study of language and how grammar emerges, depends on the culture, the audience, their context in time and place. Rules for engagement emerge, then, as design is used. People appropriate language. And so do they design.
See all Q&A. Or come say hello in May.
