ABSTRACT
Every profession breeds its own set of vernacular language that seems foreign to the outside. Designers are no exception as they use expressive words all too often in the form of slangs (e.g., awesome lighting, pop of color) or jargons (e.g., feasibility study, materiality). Slangs are playful descriptors while jargons are institutionalized and technically savvy. However, not much is known about what role slangs/jargons play in the design process. Understanding this unconventional form of language, especially in its cross-cultural mutation, is important to how design is communicated in today’s global context. Because the DTRS11 dataset consisted of Scandinavian and Asian teams, it lent itself well to a cross-cultural study of design jargons. Using a content analysis approach, this paper presents instances of slang/jargon and their role in aggregation and accumulation of concepts in the design process. The findings also reveal unique usage of slangs/jargons by the Scandinavian and Asian teams and their mutations in the cross-cultural collaboration.
