Theoretical Frameworks for the Conceptualization of Graphic Design in Use

The practice and theory of graphic design are surprisingly unimpressed by notions of use. This paper seeks answers for this absence in the discipline's focus on the visual. Visual studies presuppose a disembodied viewer rather than a user of graphic design artifacts. To enable a user-centered perspective in graphic design, three theoretical frameworks are presented and discussed: Distributed Cognition, Activity Theory, and Actor-Network Theory. All these approaches move away from a narrow visual and product centered perspective to a broader contextual view on the socio-material relationship between subjects and graphic design artifacts and the activities they're engaged in. Examples of how the theoretical framework can guide research and practice in graphic design are given.