From Margin to Institution: Design as a Marketplace for Action in Organizations

Abstract

To resolve the problem of design marginalization in organizations, we introduce the concept of institution and an Aristotelian framework for human activity to identify an action-based approach for design in complex systems. When design is positioned solely as an activity of production—despite the success of human-centered products—it misses an opportunity to influence institutions, or the human-side of organizations. When repositioned as a practice of shaping action, design engages in the ordering, modifying and reordering of social structures, environments and culture. In short, a theory of institution provides a human-centered approach to systems design and organizational transformation.