ABSTRACT
Design has been defined in a number of ways, with designers from various fields (e.g., architecture, fashion, and education) conceptualizing and defining their work in slightly different ways. Although design can be used to describe both a process and a product (Smith & Boling, 2009), in this chapter, we focus primarily on the process, or ‘work’, of design. Thus, design is defined here as a goal directed, problem-solving activity (Archer, 1965; Rowland, 1993), which results in the creation of something useful that did not exist previously (Reswick, 1965). Furthermore, we include the idea, proposed by Cross (2007), which describes design as occurring within a complex conceptual space, comprising both opportunities and constraints, which must be resolved in order to achieve desired and effective results. This definition, then, encapsulates the complex space within which designers work, while also suggesting that design often involves the resolution of competing tensions or priorities. In educational/instructional design, these tensions arise from competition between such things as learning outcomes, policy guidelines, graduate attributes, and students’ needs and expectations (Bird, Morgan, & O’Reilly, 2007).
