record

Thesis Info

LABS ID
00003
Thesis Title
Principles of Metadesign: Processes and Levels of Co-Creation in the New Design Space
Author
Elisa Giaccardi
2nd Author
3rd Author
Degree
PhD
Year
2004
Number of Pages
437
University
Shool of Computing, Communications, and Electronics / University of Plymouth, UK
Thesis Supervisor
Prof. Roy Ascott
Supervisor e-mail
Other Supervisor(s)
Language(s) of Thesis
English
Department / Discipline
Planetary Collegium (CAiiA-STAR)
Languages Familiar to Author
Italian, English, Spanish, and French
URL where full thesis can be found
Thesis available upon request
Keywords
Metadesign, interactive art, co-creation, emergence, design space, design theory, design culture, art practice, aesthetics, transdisciplinarity
Abstract: 200-500 words
Metadesign is a term that has been used with reference to art, cultural theories, and design practices (from graphic design to biotechnological design) since the 1980s. Metadesign is neither an established discipline nor a coherent theory. It is rather the expression of a set of concerns and intentions, calling for an expansion of the creative process in the new design space engendered by information technologies.This study provides an understanding of metadesign. It improves its conceptual framework and methodology, by deconstructing the trajectory along which the notion has developed and has been applied in the last decades, and establishing a transdisciplinary dialogue with the aesthetics and practice of interactive art.Such a study contributes to a new idea of design, and to identify a new design space. Rather than proposing a new model of design, the work promotes a new mode of design: a shift in design culture from planning to seeding (or emergence). It is a belief of the author that such a mode of design, identified as a set of principles organized in different and complementary design planes, might enable people to manage the construction of their environment and their relationships with the world in a co-creative manner.In conclusion, the thesis offers: (1) an understanding of metadesign as a design culture emerging from current design and cultural theories; (2) an integration and advance of the conceptual and methodological framework of metadesign in light of the concept of co-creation; and lastly (3) the development of the idea of a multifold design space, and the identification of specific design principles.