Design and technology: what is the problem?

This paper examines designing from a cognitive perspective. A long-standing model that attempts to explain how people solve problems is examined. Also examined is recent work suggesting design problems have a number of features that distinguish then from other kinds of problems. A revised model and theory are presented and discussed. The revised model accounts for the characteristics of design problems in that it acknowledges that design problems have an ill-defined starting point, there are many ways to solve them and there are, in theory at least, an infinite number of solutions for each design problem. The implications of this work for current understanding of problem-solving and designing are discussed, as are the implications for teaching and learning in design and technology classes.