ABSTRACT
In 2002, Nicola Morelli wrote: ‘In the design discipline the methodological implications
of product/service systems rarely have been discussed even though design compon-
ents play a critical role in the development of these systems’ (Morelli 2002). Criticism
of design practice domains lacking a theoretical framework and methodological basis
is typical of the theory-practice nexus in design. The overview of the work of the
‘Embracing Complexity in Design’ community commented that: ‘It is now recognised
that the objects of most domains are “complex systems”, including natural systems,
social systems and artificial systems. The science of complexity cuts across the par-
ticular domains seeking principles and methods that can be applied to complex sys-
tems in general.’ Johnson et al. 2007).
