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Organization Studies, Vol. 29, No. 3, 373-392 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0170840607088019

Uncovering Design Attitude: Inside the Culture of Designers

Kamil Michlewski

Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK, k.michlewski{at}gmail.com

This paper empirically explores what constitutes design attitude. Previous studies have called on managers to adopt such an attitude in creating products, services and processes that are both profitable and humanly satisfying. However, what a design attitude actually is made of has not been researched. In this study I therefore investigate the nature of this attitude, as displayed by professional designers. Interview data from senior designers and managers from four internationally recognized, design-led organizations (IDEO, Nissan Design, Philips Design and Wolff Olins) are collected in order to characterize the likely shape of a work-based attitude promoted by designers themselves. The five theoretical categories characterizing design attitude that arise from the data are: 'Consolidating multidimensional meanings', 'Creating, bringing to life', 'Embracing discontinuity and open-endedness', 'Embracing personal and commercial empathy' and 'Engaging polysensorial aesthetics'. Finally, the implications of these findings for organization research are discussed.

Key Words: design attitude • design gestalt • professional design culture • design practice • design values


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