Abstract
In this paper we consider some of the rich body of work of the mathematician, quantum physicist and thinker David Bohm. Bohm’s ideas have both direct and tangential relevance to design. We review Bohm’s notions of implicate and explicate order as metaphors for the totality of design and the relationship of its parts. There are parallels with initial inception and then realisation through the subsequent stages of design. If one starts with Bohm’s position that the universe has an implicate order, then design is one way of unfolding that order to make it explicate. Design ideas are enfolded around us at all times; the processes of design merely unfold them to the world in an understandable manner. We also explore Bohm’s notions of folding and blending and look at their links with invention, innovation and renovation. Folding and blending are ideas that are comparatively easy to accommodate and provide alternative conceptual access to the complex field of design.
Citation
Howe, A., and Dillon, P. (2002) Folding, blending and implicate order: reconceptualisation in design education, in Durling, D. and Shackleton, J. (eds.), Common Ground - DRS International Conference 2002, 5-7 September, London, United Kingdom. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2002/researchpapers/35
Folding, blending and implicate order: reconceptualisation in design education
In this paper we consider some of the rich body of work of the mathematician, quantum physicist and thinker David Bohm. Bohm’s ideas have both direct and tangential relevance to design. We review Bohm’s notions of implicate and explicate order as metaphors for the totality of design and the relationship of its parts. There are parallels with initial inception and then realisation through the subsequent stages of design. If one starts with Bohm’s position that the universe has an implicate order, then design is one way of unfolding that order to make it explicate. Design ideas are enfolded around us at all times; the processes of design merely unfold them to the world in an understandable manner. We also explore Bohm’s notions of folding and blending and look at their links with invention, innovation and renovation. Folding and blending are ideas that are comparatively easy to accommodate and provide alternative conceptual access to the complex field of design.