The Dialectic Between System Space and Design Space

Abstract

System space is introduced as a conceptual design space and as a distinct space from that traditionally addressed by most design processes. The paper intends to address the increasing complexity deriving from the ongoing blend of physical and digital in a postdigital culture and contribute to the current understanding of the effect of “systemic” ways of thinking in design disciplines. We argue that a systemic perspective cannot simply be “added” to the design process and that addressing postdigital complexity, that is, producing solutions to contemporary design problems, requires instead its own conceptualization, in its own space, to be acknowledged, practiced, and formalized as a different way of thinking. We propose that system space lives in a dialectical relationship with design space within the space of the experience and that it provides a way to escape the cognitive traps in design space. We posit that the relationships between system space and design space can be apprehended by means of an exo-process adapted from systems thinking, and that the exo-process provides a supporting structure for the intentional and necessary movement between the different spaces, scales, and modes of thinking required by contemporary design work. We then illustrate such a dialectical relationship through the analysis of three different cases and draw final considerations.