Situating design as social creation and cultural cognition

Video and transcripts of two architectural design meetings are presented in an analysis of a specific design process. The focus of the analysis presented here is the social and cultural aspects of cognition in design. The argument begins with a discussion of the parallels in design studies and cognitive science as each has begun to consider the importance of environmental influences on how we design and how we think. By applying three situated frameworks to understand the situated nature of design meetings, the analysis shows that notions of social creation and cultural cognition are complementary and necessary for a holistic understanding of the collaborative design process.