Nigel Cross

The title of this book is almost ironic, as it was published a couple of years after the worldwide hype of simplified creative methods for business people. Still, Cross addresses the concept of design thinking in the proper sense of the word: The book is a quite comprehensive, yet compact and accessible introduction to what is known about the cognitive processes of design. Well-chosen empirical studies are reported in some depth, along with theoretical accounts of design thinking based on Cross' own work as well as that of many other significant scholars from the field of design studies.… (meer)

A collection of articles and talks by Nigel Cross, some of which previously published only in less accessible fora, spanning twenty years of studies of design practices and design thinking. The focus of the work is on understanding the nature of the individual designer’s thinking and acting, and the book is full of important insights presented in quiet and humble ways: "method may be vital to the practice of science (where it validates the results) but not to the practice of design (where results do not have to be repeatable, and in most cases must not be repeated, or copied)", or "There is a great wealth of knowledge carried in the objects of our material culture. If you want to know how an object should be designed ... go and look at existing examples of that kind of object, and simply ... learn from the past." The contributions offered by Cross are relevant to any interaction designer involved in education or methodology.… (meer)