Action Research and the Practice of Design

Introduction The pioneer design work that was carried out in Europe and America during the first half of this century blossomed in the postwar years, growing in size and prosperity as creative expertise was combined with serious business acumen. One thinks principally of the Bauhaus, together with individuals such as Peter Behrens, Jan Tschichold, Piet Zwart, Alvar Aalto, and Raymond Loewy, as people who instinctively developed a profession out of their design practice. Richard Buchanan has summarized this rapid development as three stages: 1 Design began as a trade activity, closely connected to industrialization and the emergence of mass communication. After a period of time, professions began to emerge, with traditions of practice and conscious recognition of a distinct type of thinking and working that distinguished our profession from others. However, we are now witnessing the beginnings of the third era of design, marked by the emergence of design as a field or discipline.