The connective role of improvisation in dealing with uncertainty during invention and design processes

Abstract

This paper explores the role of improvisation in design thinking for product design processes and design research methods. Improvisation is often at the core of practice-based and participatory design, permitting flexibility. The role of improvisation in the performing arts has received considerable academic attention, however its role in design processes has been neglected, because improvisation is often viewed as the second-best solution to design problems. This paper presents a framework for improvisation by surveying existing scholarship. Additionally, field study data collected between 2011 and 2016, primarily in Namibia and Australia, will be used to illustrate how improvisation is applied by practitioners during their art and design activities. The connective function of improvisation allows designers to negotiate, take risks, unmake and remake formations. This function enables the fluidity of design, to move from one moment in a process to the next, allowing designers to negotiate ways of work during uncertainty.