The Designer as Savage

Abstract

The savage mind can be described as the thoughts of “primitive people” without writing. They desire to understand the world around them, its nature, and their society. They are thinkers and also handymen, using so-called bricolage, rather disinterested thinking and intellectual reasoning as a philosopher does, and to some extent a scientist. The term bricolage has also been used and discussed in many other fields, including anthropology, philosophy, critical theory, education, computer science and business. In this chapter, we attempt to identify design’s role neither as an economically viable tool, nor as carried out by conventional mainstream designers. We examine the significance of “design as bricolage” and explore just how bricolage can provide an alternative for new ways of approach to design and to using technology. Further, we argue for mythical thinking as an alternative creative mindset, as opposed to cultivated systematic thought that systematically proceeds from goals to means.