The Nature of Design: Principles, Processes, and the Purview of the Architect

Design is a widely-misunderstood discipline. In fact, the design profession itself often accepts and promotes a vague and misleading definition of design. The Nature of Design asks design professionals, their clients and interested students to examine the fundamental nature and practice of their discipline, and to understand the true criteria behind design and the design process. In this insightful, irreverent and beautiful exposition of the design process, one of the world's most prolific practitioners proposes an absolutely clear distinction between Design and Art. Whereas artists express their own interpretations of the world, the designer's charge is to translate their client's vision into reality, orchestrating a complex, often-conflicting array of criteria into a single solution. The ability to design well--to orchestrate effectively, and even efficiently--requires a broad and adaptable capability, derived from specific knowledge and skills, applied in a pragmatic and effective design process. Questions of a designer's personal style and expression must follow the process, not lead it. By its integration of insightful philosophical stance, practical application, and visual example, The Nature of Design is not only a primer for students and reference for practitioners, but a revealing behind-the-scenes tour for clients, and anyone with an interest in the practice of design and architecture. Conversational yet uncompromising in its message--illustrated throughout by hundreds of actual design drawings from real-world projects of all types and scales demonstrating Lockard's highly effective and versatile process--the book's overarching principles will find application in all fields of design.

Author: M. Scott Lockard
Publisher: Oro Editions
Published: 05/22/2017
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 3.40lbs
Size: 11.40h x 9.70w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781939621429

About the Author
Lockard, M. Scott: - "In more than thirty-five years of architectural practice, Scott Lockard has had a hand in the design of projects of nearly every scale and type, in all phases of design, and on every continent. Beyond his own practice, Lockard has collaborated with more than seventy-five design firms, and thus has a unique and extremely realistic perspective on the practice of design today. Lockard has led design projects for such entities as George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch, Walt Disney Imagineering and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Lockard has been a featured speaker at conferences of the American Institute of Architects and the Design Communication Association as well as numerous universities and firm-sponsored design workshops. He contributed to classic books in the field - his father Kirby Lockard's DESIGN DRAWING and DESIGN DRAWING EXPERIENCES - and his work has been featured in several other books on architectural representation and design. Projects designed by Lockard have received awards from local, state and regional authorities, including the American Institute of Architects, the Denver Design Center and the Albuquerque Conservation Association. Prior to 1996, Lockard was a Design Director for ADP/Fluor Daniel, a multi-disciplinary, international design firm specializing in education, healthcare and high-technology projects, as well as a Senior Designer for Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz, an international design firm specializing in retail, commercial and healthcare projects. A large proportion of Lockard's broad experience derives from providing consulting design services to major U.S. design firms including A.C. Martin, Bechtel, Parsons, Callison, and HOK. Scott lives just north of San Francisco with his wife Nancy, and their nearly-empty nest receives periodic visits from their son Brodie and daughter Kendra."