A key insight for me was to realise that if we wanted to develop a robust, independent discipline of design (rather than let design be subsumed within paradigms of science or the arts), then we had to be much more articulate about the particular nature of design activity, design behaviour and design cognition.

The concept of ‘designerly ways of knowing’ emerged in the late 1970s in association with the development of new approaches in design education. Professor Nigel Cross first clearly articulated this concept in a paper called ‘Designerly Ways of Knowing’ which was published in the journal Design Studies in 1982. Since then, the field of study has grown considerably, as both design education and design research have developed together into a new discipline of design. This book provides a unique insight into a field of study with important implications for design research, education and practice.

Professor Nigel Cross is one of the most internationally-respected design researchers and this book is a revised and edited collection of key parts of his published work from the last quarter century. Designerly Ways of Knowing traces the development of a research interest in articulating and understanding the nature of design cognition, and the concept that designers (whether architects, engineers, product designers, etc.) have and use particular ‘designerly’ ways of knowing and thinking. There are chapters covering the following topics:

• the nature and nurture of design ability;
• creative cognition in design;
• the natural intelligence of design;
• design discipline versus design science; and,
• expertise in design.

As a timeline of scholarship and research, and a resource for understanding how designers think and work, Designerly Ways of Knowing will be of interest to researchers, teachers and students of design; design practitioners and design managers.

This book traces the development of a personal research programme over a period of many years. The starting point for the programme was a realisation that research in design seemed to have no clear goal of what it was trying to achieve. A key insight for me was to realise that if we wanted to develop a robust, independent discipline of design (rather than let design be subsumed within paradigms of science or the arts), then we had to be much more articulate about the particular nature of design activity, design behaviour and design cognition. We had to build a network of arguments and evidence for ‘designerly ways of knowing’. The research programme has included some empirical, laboratory-based work, but has also included theoretical reflection, and attempts to review and synthesise the work of other researchers. I have reported this work at various times and in various places – in lectures, conference presentations and journal papers. In this book I have brought together a selected series of these reports, trying to trace a coherent thread, and to lay out some of the network of arguments and evidence referred to above. My goal has been to understand how designers think, or the nature of design expertise, trying to establish its particular strengths and weaknesses, and giving credit where it might be due for design cognition as an essential aspect of human intelligence.