Design as communication in micro-strategy — strategic sensemaking and sensegiving mediated through designed artefacts.

Stevens, John (2013) Design as communication in micro-strategy — strategic sensemaking and sensegiving mediated through designed artefacts. Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing, 27 (2). pp. 133-142. ISSN 0890-0604

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Abstract

This paper relates key concepts of strategic cognition in microstrategy to design practice. It considers the potential roles of designers' output in strategic sensemaking and sensegiving. Designed artifacts play well-known roles as communication media; sketches, renderings, models, and prototypes are created to explore and test possibilities and to communicate these options within and outside the design team. This article draws on design and strategy literature to propose that designed artifacts can and do play a role as symbolic communication resources in sensemaking and sensegiving activities that impact strategic decision making and change. Extracts from interviews with three designers serve as illustrative examples. This article is a call for further empirical exploration of such a complex subject.

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