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Archer - 1970 - The Three Rs
Archer - 1970 - The Three Rs
Archer - 1970 - The Three Rs
The Three Rs
Bruce Archer
This paper can be regarded as the
foundation document for the work which
took place at the Royal College of Art
during the 1970s and 80s. It was
presented in a number of different forms
at conferences and seminars and formed
the Preface to the Design in General
Education report that the RCA delivered
to the then Department of Education and
Science in 1976.
In it Archer proposed Design as the
missing segment of education to be placed
alongside Science and the Humanities.
Modelling is identified as the medium for
designing and a comprehensive taxonomy
is set out for the design field. To this
radical and fundamental material we have
added a set of closely related definitions of
design and designing which also
underpinned the RCA approach.
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HUMANITIES
language
history
literary arts
philosophy
performing arts
notation
useful arts
SCIENCE
fine arts
technology
social science
physical science
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DESIGN
modelling
The Three Rs
Design technology:
The study of the phenomena to be taken
into account within a given area of
application;
Design praxiology:
The study of the design techniques, skills
and judgement applied in a given area;
Design language (modelling):
The study of vocabulary, syntax and media
for recording, devising, assessing and
expressing design ideas in a given area;
Design taxonomy:
The study of the classification of design
phenomena;
The Three Rs
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Design metrology:
The study of the measurement of design
phenomena, with special emphasis on the
means for ordering or comparing nonquantifiable phenomena;
Design axiology:
The study of goodness or value in design
phenomena, with special regard to the
relations between technical, economic,
moral and aesthetic values;
Design philosophy:
The study of the language of discourse on
moral principles in design;
Design epistemology:
The study of the nature and validity of
ways of knowing, believing and feeling in
design;
Design history:
The study of what is the case, and how
things came to be the way they are, in the
design area;
Design pedagogy:
The study of the principles and practice of
education in the design area.
Of these sub-disciplines, design praxiology
and design language (or modelling)
probably need to be studied within the
field of design research itself. It seems
unlikely that any sub-disciplines of Science
or the Humanities would make much
contribution to them. Design technology
can really be lifted straight from existing
sub-disciplines elsewhere. Workers in the
design research field would need to lean
heavily on scholars in the Humanities for
help in design philosophy, epistemology
and history. Science undoubtedly holds the
keys to design taxonomy, metrology and
axiology but a great deal needs to be done
to adapt existing theory to design needs.
Design pedagogy may also need
development beyond existing theory.
Design research methods themselves will
also require original development, since
there are subjects for enquiry and kinds of
knowing which do not lend themselves to
conventional scientific or speculative
enquiry. But this is going too far into the
theory, of the theory, of the teaching, of the
practice, of getting to grips with reality! Let
The Three Rs
Some definitions
It is important to attempt to define more
precisely than hitherto the meaning of
Design and hence of such terms as
design awareness and design education.
It was soon evident that the way in which
Design was defined would control the
way in which its educational role could be
envisaged. There appeared to be three jobs
that any definition or set of definitions
needed to do. Firstly, it was necessary to
give substance to the notion, long and
widely held that there was a third area in
education besides Science and the
Humanities and also to distinguish it from
a possible fourth area devoted to Affairs,
or the operational arts. Secondly, it was
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