Versatile Frame of reference

The analysis of the interview data, from which the larger proposition named versatile Frame of reference was generated (Figure 5.9), is presented in page 143.

143

Figure 5.9 Example of coding process for versatile Frame of reference

The larger proposition named versatile Frame of reference was generated from the analysis of interview data (refer to Figure 5.9) that represented an evolved variation to the flexible Frame of reference. Three concepts/patterns that define a versatile Frame of reference were drawn from the recurrent themes, and three concepts were developed:

initiatory, uncertainty and exploratory.

144

The initiatory approach for forging relationships between possible variables taken in this role allows those in this Frame to define a problem. They are aware of their position in a situation and act with an intention once they have reflected upon it. There is an element of uncertainty as to what actions need to be performed, since it is necessary to move away from assumptions and expectations. The exploratory character of the role refers to the capability to be open to possible ways of action, in which the intentions and purpose can be challenged and modified. The ways of handling this role are based on thinking and reflecting to reach a level of certainty in what to do. Paths of action are thus inquisitory; their views are based on in-depth investigation, either through the researching of documents or by engaging in conversations with others involved at various moments throughout the design situation.

Figure 5.10 depicts the elements of a role when a versatile Frame of reference has been adopted. The grey square represents the versatile approach to the role and the red circle symbolises the capacity of the person adopting this Frame to move away from assumptions. The dotted lines denote the exploratory character of the role, in which thinking and reflection are important elements in defining the paths of action. There is also an element of uncertainty in the ways of handling this role.

Figure 5.10 Depiction of the versatile Frame of reference

A versatile Frame of reference, though, allows those involved to enter into a situation to change it based on a detailed revision, which includes conversations with others involved in order to understand their motives within a situation. This element can be demonstrated by the two following descriptions:

145

I manage the research and design team, so that is all the anthropologists, psychologists, cultural studies, interaction designers and ergonomists. We work together in projects of product design and innovation.

Design Consultant / Design Consultancy

I am working much more as a designer who is at the beginning of the product development process. We work with marketing, with the engineers; we are trying to consult [throughout] the whole process. Of course this type of design has much more impact than the one that is at the end [of the process]; [it] just makes a nice shape.

Design for Sustainability Consultant / Design Consultancy

Others positioned themselves outside of the industry; in doing so the relevance of them entering into a situation is that they do not hold the same assumptions as those already involved:

My position in relation to the industry is being on the outside of the industry, more as a consultant, so I might come from a different point of view.

Design for Sustainability Consultant / Design Consultancy

In these instances it is also possible to see that interviewees are aware of the importance of being part of the situation from the beginning and throughout its duration. Such involvement is an essential part of the versatility of this Frame of reference, since it allows for the defining of objectives and ways of achieving them. That is, through these interactions with others, it is easier to explain the reasons for the course of action in a given situation, which in some cases might include radically changing decisions that others have made which, again, will radically change the ways of doing something. Below is an example in which an interviewee discussed the great influence that they have in terms of decisions in a design situation:

My role is to develop or re-develop products or brands in three steps: the first step is the inside or positioning step, where we find a client’s or organisation’s capabilities, aspirations and resources and look at the marketplace, and find a gap in the market that can be fulfilled as reasonably well as anybody else, preferably better, but at least as well, and that determines the brand essence of the product concerned.

Brand consultant/ Brand consultancy

146

While in this instance the interviewee moves to some extent away from the preconceptions and assumptions of what is needed in a given situation, most important is that they portray decisions as based on an in-depth investigation of the situation.

In other instances in which interviewees discussed the extent to which their role influences objectives and decisions, a key feature was the competence to step out of their Frame of reference to drastically move away from usual ways of achieving objectives and suggest completely new ways of thinking and going about design:

…[we] are [even] involved in the decision of what kind of product a company shall put on the market: so what kind of solution does it contribute to? And then of course as a designer you can have more impact, you can really talk with marketing people from management, you can really ask them: “hey maybe there is a sustainable solution that is economically interesting at the same time, and maybe you can change your offer to the market so that it’s a totally different kind of design”.

Design for Sustainability Consultant / Design Consultancy

It’s a question of changing the frame of reference of the understanding of investment.

Design for Sustainability Consultant / Design Consultancy

Another aspect of the versatile Frame of reference is the uncertainty of paths of action in which the role is conducted, since before making any decisions on how to enter into and operate in a situation, there is a need to exhaustively examine such a situation; this might mean defining what the real problem is. An example of this is below:

[In] a lot of initial evaluations, [there is] a considerable amount of research before one starts actually posing design questions and that research dictates what happens thereafter.

Design for Sustainability Consultant / Design Consultancy

Equally important to the versatile Frame of reference, in terms of ways of handling this role, is that it involves asking questions, reflecting on actions that have been taken and the reasons for them. Since there is an element of awareness of the impacts that decisions might have in a broader context, those in this role characterisation go beyond the information available in order to understand the issues in a holistic way:

147

From the beginning [one has] to look at the relation very much between the object to be packaged and the packaging itself as an integrated problem in terms of sustainability, asking questions and understanding what type of function a package is serving.

Design for Sustainability Consultant / Design Consultancy

In summary, in a versatile Frame of reference the nature or character of the role is described as capable of intentionally turning from one situation to another. This occurs in such a way that those occupying this Frame are deliberately there to define the objectives as well as to explore ways to achieve them. In terms of paths of action, these roles are able to deal with the uncertainty resulting from exploring new ways of looking at a situation and, therefore, of going about it. They ask questions and reflect, and are aware of the influence that their actions might have in a broader context.