Design is not merely problem-solving or aesthetic production—it is an epistemic practice, a way of generating and communicating knowledge through material engagement with the world.
This perspective draws on:
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Semiotics and Perception: Design artifacts function as signs that shape how we interpret reality. The act of perceiving is already an act of interpretation. See Peirce’s Semiotic Theory and Logical Systems, Perception as Semiosis and Abduction, Art as Metaphor for Epistemology
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Material Thinking: Knowledge emerges through making. The designer learns by engaging with materials, processes, and constraints—not just by theorizing. See Formafantasma’s Material Process, Design as Epistemic Practice
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Visual Literacy: Reading images, objects, and spaces requires knowledge. Design both demands and produces this literacy. See Reading Images Requires Knowledge, Vilém Flusser
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Objects as Arguments: Every designed object embeds assumptions about users, contexts, and values. Design is a form of rhetoric—it persuades through form. See Critique and Politics in Design, Ethics in Design
Design epistemology asks: What does it mean to know through making? How do objects carry meaning? What does design reveal that language cannot?