Design thinking: standing on the shoulders of … graphic design!

Prominent design discourse or advocacy in the domain of “design thinking” rarely depicts graphic design consistently, or with sufficient rigour and depth of understanding about the field’s role in the development of design studies. Nor do most advocates for graphic design proffer it to be little more than a vernacular activity when competing for academic attention, despite its widespread academic presence, industry prominence, and everyday practice. The arguments presented in this paper offer a timely critical perspective on a frequently unchallenged prevailing discourse that has echoed consistent assumptions over several decades. The authors call for more integrity in respect for those who design in different communication contexts, more precision in discussing the way graphic design has evolved and been portrayed, and more rigour in the thoroughness and care that research into graphic design and its associated fields now demands as the subject is taught in Universities around the world. The outcomes will be of particular interest to researchers who draw on and re-present Buchanan’s four orders of design concept and offer an alternative perspective to those who suggest graphic design relies overly on intuition when deliberating on design thinking.