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RATIONAL1 based on or in accordance with reason or logic : I’m sure there’s a perfectly rational explanation.

• (of a person) able to think clearly, sensibly, and logically : Andrea’s upset—she’s not being very rational.See note at sensible .• endowed with the capacity to reason : man is a rational being.

2 Mathematics (of a number, quantity, or ex-pression) expressible, or containing quantities that are expressible, as a ratio of whole num-bers. When expressed as a decimal, a rational number has a finite or recurring expansion.

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All texts highlighted with the “ “, are notes while reading from the following books. There’s no special sequence for each page.

Dorst, Kees. Understanding Design. Corte Madera, CA: Gingko Press, Inc, 2006. Print.

Lawson, Bryan. How Designer think. London : The Architectural Press, 198o. 33. Print.

Koberg, Don and Bagnall, Jim. “The revised all new universal traveler.” Los Altos, California: Crisp Publications, Inc, 1974. Print.

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In fact not only are de-signers likely to devise different solutions but they also perceive prob-lems differently. our un-derstanding of design problem and the informa-tion needed to solve them depends to a certain ex-tent upon our ideas for solving them.

Perceive:1 become aware or con-scious of (something); come to realize or understand : his mouth fell open as he perceived the truth | [with clause ] he was quick to perceive that there was little fu-ture in such arguments.• become aware of (something) by the use

of one of the senses, esp. that of sight : he perceived the faintest of flushes creeping up her neck.2 interpret or look on (someone or something)

in a particular way; re-gard as : if Guy does not perceive himself as disa-bled, nobody else should | [ trans. ] some geogra-phers perceive hydrology to be a separate field of scientific inquiry.

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Keeping a “journal” is be-coming a popular way to record notes regarding the facts and discoveries about special interests. Sometimes a problem can benefit from having its own “record book” or journey to separate it from other problems in your life.

Fact:a thing that is indisput-ably the case : she lacks political experience—a fact that becomes clear when she appears in pub-lic | a body of fact.• ( the fact that) used in discussing the sig-nificance of something that is the case : the real

problem facing them is the fact that their funds are being cut.• (usu. facts) a piece of information used as evidence or as part of a report or news article.• chiefly Law the truth about events as opposed

to interpretation : there was a question of fact as to whether they had received the letter.

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If you want to learn about something, try teaching it to someone else. No on ever learns as much as the teacher.

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Finding interrelation-ships is a most creative activity. Make analogy-Finding one of your pas-times. Pick some random thing around you and fine ten things that are like in some way.

Find:1 discover or perceive by chance or unexpectedly. • discover (someone or something) after a deliberate search• ( find oneself) discover oneself to be in a surprising or unexpected situation • succeed in obtaining (something).

• summon up (a quality, esp. courage) with an effort .• recover the use of (an ability or faculty) .• [ intrans. ] (of hunt-ers or hounds) discover game, esp. a fox. 2 (often be found) recog-nize or discover (some-thing) to be present. • become aware of;

discover to be the case. • ascertain (something) by study, calculation, or inquiry. • ( find oneself) discover the fundamental truths about one’s own charac-ter and identity. 3 (of a thing) reach or arrive at, either of its own accord or without the human agent being

known. nouna discovery of something valuable, typically some-thing of archaeological interest

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Design can indeed be seen as learning: as a designer, you gradually gather knowledge about the nature of the design problem and the best routes to take towards a design solution. You do this by trying out differ-ent ways of looking at the problem, and experiment-ing with various solution

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directions. You propose, experiment, and learn from the results, until you arrive at a satisfac-tory result.

Nature:1 the phenomena of the physical world collec-tively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations. • the physical force regarded as causing and

regulating these phe-nomena. • the countryside, esp. when picturesque. • archaic a living thing’s vital functions or needs. 2 [in sing. ] the basic or inherent features of something, esp. when seen as characteristic of it

• the innate or essential qualities or character of a person or animal. • inborn or hereditary characteristics as an influence on or determi-nant of personality • [with adj. ] archaic a person of a specified character

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Evaluation teaches that design is a form of opti-mism because it antici-pates the best possible outcome.

Evaluation:form an idea of the amount, number, or value of; assess : when you evaluate any ham-mer, look for precision machining | [with clause ] computer simulations evaluated how the air-craft would perform.• Mathematics find a

numerical expression or equivalent for (an equa-tion, formula, or func-tion).

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To document process is the best we can do. One commonly enjoyed form is the “diary” or personal record of what transpired. As increasingly popular version of that record is the journal where a re-cord develops to include not only observations, but conclusions and predic-tions as well.

Observation:1 the action or process of observing something or someone carefully or in order to gain infor-mation. 2 a remark, statement, or comment based on something one has seen, heard, or noticed

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You challenge yourself by aiming high, by be-ing as ambitious as pos-sible. Because you have inserted your own goals, you become personally attached to the project, desperately wanting to wanting to make your ideas work.

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In design the solution is not just the logical out-come of the problem, and there is therefore no sequence of operations which will guarantee a result.. In fact we shall see how controlling and varying the design pro-cess is one of the most important skills a design-er must develop.

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It is clear from our analy-sis of the nature of design problems that the design-er must inevitably expend considerable energy in identifying the problems confronting him. It is cen-tral to modern thinking about design that prob-lems and solutions are seen as emerging together rather than one following logically upon the other.

Analysis:detailed examina-tion of the elements or structure of something, typically as a basis for discussion or interpre-tation. the process of separating something into its constituent ele-ments

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The control and combina-tion of rational and imag-inative thought is one of the designer’s most im-portant skills.

Rational:1 based on or in ac-cordance with reason or logic : I’m sure there’s a perfectly rational expla-nation.• (of a person) able to think clearly, sensibly, and logically : Andrea’s upset—she’s not being very rational.

See note at sensible .• endowed with the ca-pacity to reason : man is a rational being.2 Mathematics (of a number, quantity, or expression) expressible, or containing quantities that are expressible, as a ratio of whole num-bers. When expressed

as a decimal, a rational number has a finite or recurring expansion.

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We make our assump-tions about the problems it solves and later, when faced with an apparently similar problem we make the connection with the previously remembered solution.

Assumption:1 a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof : they made certain assumptions about the market | [with clause ] we’re working on the assumption that the time of death was after midnight.

2 the action of taking or beginning to take power or responsibility : the as-sumption of an active role in regional settlements.3 ( Assumption) the reception of the Virgin Mary bodily into heaven. This was formally de-clared a doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church

in 1950. See also Dormi-tion .• the feast in honor of this, celebrated on Au-gust 15.4 archaic arrogance or presumption.

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Relax occasionally dur-ing the problem-solving process. Allowing your thought to become behav-ior. We all need time to “di-gest” what we eat, before chewing some more.

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In design, your goals are partly determined by oth-ers, the stakeholders, because the things you create must fulfill some practical purpose in the wider world. In art, this is not the case. An art-ist determines his or her own goals, They have this freedom because with their creation, artists do

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not aim for any practical application, but strive to influence the feeling or thinking of an audience.

Practical:1 of or concerned with the actual doing or use of something rather than with theory and ideas : there are two ob-vious practical applica-tions of the research.• (of an idea, plan, or method) likely to suc-ceed or be effective

in real circumstances; feasible : neither of these strategies is practical for smaller businesses.• suitable for a particu-lar purpose : a practical, stylish kitchen.• (of a person) sensible and realistic in their ap-proach to a situation or problem : I’m not un-

feeling, just trying to be practical.• (of a person) skilled at manual tasks : Steve’ll fix it—he’s quite practical.2 so nearly the case that it can be regarded as so; virtual : it was a practical certainty that he would try to raise more money.

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To avoid frustration, it is important not to burden yourself with the target of achieving Novelty in eve-ry project. But you should strive to always do things that are new to you, irre-spective of the novelty-value they might have for the rest of the world.

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He said if I kept making compromises, I would have to defend every one of them (impossible, of course). But if I made some clear basic deci-sions that he could under-stand, he would accept almost any clear choice I made. After this trau-matic event I had to start my project all over again

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and, of course, the later ideas also contained some compromises, but I could point out where they were, and why they were absolutely neces-sary.

Basic:1 forming an essential foundation or starting point; fundamental : certain basic rules must be obeyed | the laying down of arms is basic to the agreement.• offering or consisting in the minimum re-quired without elabora-

tion or luxury; simplest or lowest in level : basic and unsophisticated resorts | the food was good, if a bit basic.• common to or required by everyone; primary and ineradicable or in-alienable : basic human rights.2 Chemistry having the

properties of a base, or containing a base; hav-ing a pH greater than 7. Often contrasted with acid or acidic ; compare with alkaline .• Geology (of rock, esp. igneous rock) relatively poor in silica.• Metallurgy relating to or denoting steelmak-

ing processes involving lime-rich refractories and slags.noun ( basics)the essential facts or principles of a subject or skill

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The solution to this is called ‘concentric devel-opment’, which recom-mends that you develop all aspects of the design to the same level of de-tail before you decide to go on to the next phase. It is as if you keep circling around your design, look-ing at it from all sides. In doing so, you make sure

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your design stays bal-anced-not necessarily at every moment in time, but at least at the mo-ment you make impor-tant decisions.

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Designers are convinced that ‘design’ is a special way of thinking, and they spend a lot of time try-ing to convince the rest of the world of this. They are using this argument to battle against a lack of recognition.

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In design, you need both intuition and reasoning: these two fundamentally dissimilar of thinking are combined within every design project.

Reason:1 a cause, explanation, or justification for an action or event : the minister resigned for per-sonal reasons | it is hard to know for the simple reason that few records survive.• good or obvious cause to do something : we

have reason to celebrate.• Logic a premise of an argument in support of a belief, esp. a minor premise when given after the conclusion.2 the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic : there is a close connec-

tion between reason and emotion.• what is right, practical, or possible; common sense : people are willing, within reason, to pay for schooling.• ( one’s reason) one’s sanity : she is in danger of losing her reason.verb [ intrans. ]

think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic

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Intuition plays a role in all human behavior. Much of what we think just pops up in our head. Of course, we also reason logically from problem to solution and there are stretches of reasoning where the mind works like a ma-chine, moving through a problem methodically, step by step. But those

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times seem to be the ex-ception, not the rule. Of-ten we intuitively reach a solution and construct an explanation (rationali-zation) afterward.

Logical:of or according to the rules of logic or formal argument : a logical impossibility.• characterized by clear, sound reasoning : the information is displayed in a simple and logical fashion.• (of an action, devel-

opment, decision, etc.) natural or sensible given the circumstances : it is a logical progression from the job before.• capable of clear ration-al thinking : her logical mind.

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As the architect Richard MacCormac observed: ’ I don’t think you can de-sign anything just by ab-sorbing information and then hoping to synthesize it into a solution. What you need to know about the problem only be-comes apparent as you’re trying to solve it.

Synthesize:make (something) by synthesis, esp. chemi-cally : man synthesizes new chemical poisons and sprays the country-side wholesale.• combine (a number of things) into a coherent whole : pupils should synthesize the data they

have gathered | Dar-winian theory has been synthesized with modern genetics.• produce (sound) elec-tronically : trigger chips that synthesize speech

[as adj. ] ( synthesized): synthesized chords.

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Design can be captivat-ing. If all goes well, the design problem is in-teresting, your ideas flow nicely, and you are in another world. Noth-ing exists except your own thoughts, decisions, sketches, doubts.

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Designers from practice are typically very ea-ger to solve the problem a student lays before them, and to help the student get a wonderful design by the end of the project. But of course, student’s designs are not as important as their learning process. This means that in the role tu-tor, you should not say everything that comes

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into your ‘designer’s mind’. You must often let the students make the mistakes they are head-ing for, confront them with those mistakes and then help them reach a different solution. You do not help them learn by solving their problems for them, although that may make both the stu-dent and tutor feel good.

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You have to present and defend your own opinions about design. It is not the kind of study where you can safely hide be-hind books and are only judged by exam results. There is nothing anony-mous about becoming a designer. A lack of enthu-siasm will sooner or later come to the surface and make it that much harder.

Judge:a public official appoint-ed to decide cases in a court of law.• a person who decides the results of a competi-tion.• an official at a sports contest who watches for infractions of the rules.• a person able or quali-fied to give an opinion on something

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Ideally, designers should acquire the split person-ality necessary to work in both worlds, and alter-nate between ‘free’ pro-ject and those that have great commercial value.

Value:1 the regard that some-thing is held to deserve; the importance or pre-ciousness of something .• the material or mone-tary worth of something.• the worth of something compared to the price paid or asked for it.• the usefulness of

something considered in respect of a particular purpose.• the relative rank, im-portance, or power of a playing card, chess piece, etc., according to the rules of the game.2 ( values) a person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judg-

ment of what is impor-tant in life.3 the numerical amount denoted by an alge-braic term; a magnitude, quantity, or number.4 Music the relative duration of the sound signified by a note.5 Linguistics the mean-ing of a word or other

linguistic unit.• the quality or tone of a spoken sound; the sound represented by a letter.6 Art the relative degree of lightness or darkness of a particular color.

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The bigger talents of-ten have an element of danger in them, some-thing absolute, an all-or-nothing monomania-cal streak. They are so focused on what they strongly want and what they really can do very well, that any call of flex-ibility is lost upon them. Great talents tend to not

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do so well in school. They are self-propelled and easily collide with any system, be in their school or outside world.

Absolute:1 not qualified or dimin-ished in any way; total • used for general em-phasis when expressing an opinion : the policy is absolute folly.• (of powers or rights) not subject to any limi-tation; unconditional.• (of a ruler) having

unrestricted power .• Law (of a decree) final : the decree of nullity was made absolute.• Law see absolute title .2 viewed or existing in-dependently and not in relation to other things; not relative or com-parative : absolute moral standards.

• Grammar (of a con-struction) syntactically independent of the rest of the sentence, as in : dinner being over, we left the table.• Grammar (of a transi-tive verb) used without an expressed object (e.g., guns kill).• Grammar (of an adjec-tive) used without an

expressed noun (e.g., the brave).noun Philosophya value or principle that is regarded as univer-sally valid or that may be viewed without relation to other things

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Design is often seen as a combination of two ways of thinking, a mixture of problem solving and cre-ativity. We have to crea-tively develop a design, but this creativity is not completely unrestricted.

Problem:1 a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and need-ing to be dealt with and overcome : men-tal health problems | [as adj. ] city planners consider it a problem district.• a thing that is difficult

to achieve or accomplish : motivation of staff can also be a problem.2 Physics & Mathematics an inquiry starting from given conditions to in-vestigate or demonstrate a fact, result, or law.• Geometry a proposi-tion in which something has to be constructed.

Compare with theorem .• (in various games, esp. chess) an arrangement of pieces in which the solver has to achieve a specified result.

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When it comes to it , these designer appar-ently love their freedom just a little bit more than they love humbly serving their fellow human be-ings. The more you think about it, the stranger this becomes: we all know that designing always involves creating things for others-yet many de-

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signers tend to be moti-vated by the fun of de-signing itself, or by the love for their own crea-tions, and do not seem to want to know too much about the others they are designing for. Is design a schizophrenic profession? Perhaps.

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In a brainstorming ses-sion it is important to create an open atmos-phere where people feel free to just throw in their ideas and associations. Anything goes, because it might spark some in-teresting connections..The one restrictive rule in a brainstorming ses-sion is that people are

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not allowed to criticize each others ideas. A fresh and mad idea is a brittle thing, that can be dismissed quite easily as being unrealistic or strange.

Rule:1 one of a set of explicit or understood regula-tions or principles gov-erning conduct within a particular activity or sphere .• a law or principle that operates within a particular sphere of knowledge, describing

or prescribing what is possible or allowable.• a code of practice and discipline for a religious order or community.• control of or dominion over an area or people.• ( the rule) the normal or customary state of things : such accidents are the exception rather

than the rule.2 a strip of wood or other rigid material used for measuring length or marking straight lines; a ruler.• a thin printed line or dash, generally used to separate headings, col-umns, or sections of text.3 ( Rules) Austral. short

for Australian Rules (football).• Law an order made by a judge or court with reference to a particular case only.

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