I had a meeting today with a PhD student from another department and was asked what to read if you want to get into the more theoretical and philosophical aspects of design and that had influenced my work. It was a good exercise and I came at least up with a few books, even though I am sure I have forgotten some that might be even more influential on my thinking. So, here they are, not full references but some with links:
Lundeqvist, Jerker. (1982?) "Norm och modell" (Norm and Model). in Swedish
This was Jerker's PhD thesis and it really opened the door for me to design theory!
Simon, Herbert. "The Science of the Artificial"
Simon's book is a must in the area.
Schön, Donald. "Educating the Reflective Practitioner"
Maybe the most influential book for me.
Lawson, Bryan. "How Designers Think"
Lawson's book really helped me to form my own understanding of design.
Dunne, Joseph "Back to the Rough Ground"
Probably the best book ever on practical knowledge and judgment.
Krippendorff, Klaus. "The Semantic Turn -- a new foundation for design"
The best contemporary book on design theory.
and of course the "best" one :-)
Nelson, Harold & Stolterman, Erik. "The Design Way - Intentional Change in an Unpredictable World"
Well, I will maybe update and add more later.....
Lundeqvist, Jerker. (1982?) "Norm och modell" (Norm and Model). in Swedish
This was Jerker's PhD thesis and it really opened the door for me to design theory!
Simon, Herbert. "The Science of the Artificial"
Simon's book is a must in the area.
Schön, Donald. "Educating the Reflective Practitioner"
Maybe the most influential book for me.
Lawson, Bryan. "How Designers Think"
Lawson's book really helped me to form my own understanding of design.
Dunne, Joseph "Back to the Rough Ground"
Probably the best book ever on practical knowledge and judgment.
Krippendorff, Klaus. "The Semantic Turn -- a new foundation for design"
The best contemporary book on design theory.
and of course the "best" one :-)
Nelson, Harold & Stolterman, Erik. "The Design Way - Intentional Change in an Unpredictable World"
Well, I will maybe update and add more later.....
Comments
Löwgren, Jonas & Stolterman Erik. "Thoughtful Interaction Design"
This book introduced me to design philosophy and framed the way I think about Interaction Design. The field itself is very difficult to define and this is one of the few writings that does it well.
Thanks for your comments and nice words! It is great to hear from you! Send me an email and let me know what your up to!
erik