论文分享丨Framing under power asymmetries

“Framing under power asymmetries: A cross-level examination of the early-stage product design process” 是由我院博士生张文林及其导师马谨共同撰写的论文，发表于Design Studies，2024年3月期，第91-92卷。（点击文末 阅读原文 可阅读整篇文章）

The paper titled "Framing under power asymmetries: A cross-level examination of the early-stage product design process" was written by D&I PhD candidate Wenlin Zhang and his supervisor Jin Ma, and published in the Elsevier Journal Design Studies Volumes 91-92, March 2024.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2024.101250

本文作者

Authors

张文林 Wenlin Zhang

同济大学设计创意学院博士研究生，研究领域为设计式创业。他的研究成果发表于Design Studies, Journal of Engineering Design, International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED) 等知名设计学国际期刊和会议。

Wenlin Zhang is a PhD candidate at College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University. His research focuses on Design-Based Entrepreneurship. His work is published on well-known journals and conferences in design research, including Design Studies, Journal of Engineering Design, International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED).

马谨 Jin Ma

同济大学设计创意学院研究员、出版平台负责人、《设计、经济与创新学报》（简称She Ji）联合主编。研究方向：设计哲学、设计教育、设计知识与方法、设计学科的发展趋势。

Jin Ma, PhD, is Research Fellow and Director of the She Ji Publishing Platform at the Tongji University College of Design and Innovation (D&I), China. She is the co-Editor-in-Chief of She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation (published by Tongji University in cooperation with Elsevier). Her research focuses on the philosophy of design, design education, design knowledge and methods, developments of the design discipline, and new forms of design research publications.

论文简介

About the paper

概  览

设计师如何与处在不同权力地位的专业人员协商设计方案？本文作者在一家设计咨询公司进行了田野研究。他们发现随着时间推移，设计师和其它专业人员不断在“强加”“引导”“共议”“兜售”和“扩散”的架构（framing）实践之间灵活转换。该发现有助于设计研究和从业者理解和应用权力不对称情境中的架构实践。

摘  要

在真实世界中，设计项目往往涉及到来自相同或不同组织的设计师及非设计专业人员。权力不对称贯穿在这些设计项目中。然而，现行的设计研究隐含着这样一种假设：架构（framing）作为一个贯穿设计过程的基本实践，是在相对平等的人际谈判中展开的。在很大程度上，个人和集体层面的架构实践在权力不对称情况下的动态变化仍未得到充分探索。本文作者在一家设计咨询公司开展实地研究，对 48 个早期产品设计环节进行了跨层次分析。最终的研究结果揭示了权力不对称如何渗透和塑造构架（frame）演变，并经历了从个人提议到集体接受的过程。这项研究将架构重新概念化为一种带有权力色彩的跨层次实践，从而扩展了设计研究中的构架理论。

关键词

架构；设计流程；设计实践；案例研究；权力不对称

Overview

How do designers negotiate design proposals with professionals of varying power status in real-world design projects? The authors conducted a field study at a design consultancy. They found that designers and other professionals flexibly switch between framing practices of imposing, steering, co-crafting, pitching, and diffusing over time. This finding is valuable for design researchers and practitioners to understand and apply framing under power asymmetric contexts.

Abstract

Real-world design projects often involve designers and non-design professionals from the same or different organisations. Power asymmetries permeate such projects. However, prevailing design research implicitly assumes that framing—an essential practice that pervades the design process—unfolds within relatively equitable interpersonal negotiations. The dynamics in framing across the individual and collective levels under power asymmetric conditions remain largely underexplored. We conducted a cross-level analysis of 48 early-stage product design sessions, drawing on a field study conducted at a design consultancy. Our findings reveal how power asymmetries infiltrate and shape frame evolution, starting from individual proposals to eventual collective acceptance. This research extends framing theory in design research by reconceptualising framing as a power-laden, cross-level practice.

Keywords

Framing, design process, design practice, case study, power asymmetry

关于《设计研究》

About Design Studies

《设计研究》是一份国际领先的跨学科设计研究期刊，致力于对设计进行全面的研究和讨论，创刊于1979年，被SCI收录。该刊发表与所有应用领域的设计过程、观点和结果相关的原创学术研究论文，其受众广泛，包括研究人员、教育工作者和从业人员。它的研究范围涵盖广泛的设计领域，包括但不限于工程设计、工业设计、产品设计、系统设计、创新以及当前总体研究背景下的设计思维范式。

Design Studies is a leading international interdisciplinary journal dedicated to the comprehensive examination and discourse of design. With the editorial aim to publish work that is relevant to a broad audience of researchers, educators, and practitioners, Design Studies welcome original scholarly research papers concerned with the process, perspectives and outcomes of designing in all its application areas. The scope encompasses a wide range of design domains, including but not limited to engineering design, industrial design, product design, systems design, innovation, and current design thinking paradigms within the overarching research context.

Zhang, W. & Ma, J. (2024). Framing under power asymmetries: A cross-level examination of the early-stage product design process. Design Studies, 91-92, 101250.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2024.101250.

编辑 | 钰璐

审校 | 张文林 马谨

责编 | 雪青