/** * @article Synthesis of Form * * @since April 27, 2010 * @package Shortpost * * @tags design * */
Christopher Alexander’s book Notes on the Synthesis of Form is a classic book on the design thinking process. At any point in the design process, he says, there is always the option to redefine the boundary between the “form” (what we are called on to fix) and the “context” (the background, what’s taken for a given); and attack the problem in a whole different way.
I just watched a talk that Ryan Singer from 37signals gave at SVA which explained some of Alexander’s concepts of form/context, and forces, very clearly. See his explanations, and video of the Q&A sessions, online here.