ABSTRACTION AND MEANING IN DESIGN: THE OPEN RESPONSE MODEL

In teaching design communication, I have employed a number of design communication tools that are invaluable to the design student. One in particular teaches students about abstraction and meaning in design. The "Open Response Model" is, at first, a word tool used to draw out and organize verbal elements necessary to the design process and is also a tool that displays that information in a concise and ultimately useable format.

This design information is then used as a foundation to teach abstraction and meaning in design. From this foundation, sketches and models are made that translate the information from words to graphic reality. The foundation is then used to check the design sketches and abstract model for the inclusion of all information from it. If the design does not communicate the information, i.e. transference of meaning, it is readily apparent and adjustments to the design can be made until the information in the foundation can be discerned from the new design.

The Open Response Model contains the following categorical elements displayed in a graphical/verbal framework:

- The Ensemble: A generic description of the problem
- Categorical Subsets: The major categories
- Incremental Subsets: The parts of the categories
- Elemental Subsets: The elements of the parts

From the Open Response Model and subsequent sculptural form, abstraction is taught and explored and design meaning is taught and communicated.

Design Communication can be defined in many ways, here, the intention of the design is made clear, expanded upon, edited, categorized, sketched and built with an inherent communication-checking mechanism. The since the Open Response Model represents the design intentions of the author, concepts can be clarified, and design intentions communicated thoroughly and deliberately.

The presentation of this paper will show how the Open Response Model is made and used and student examples of the process, including final design/initial model comparisons.