Designing Designing

John Chris Jones was born in 1927, in Aberystwyth, Wales. Jones studied engineering at the University of Cambridge, and went on to work for AEI in Manchester, England. In 1962 he instigated an influential conference on design methods, which led to the formation of the Design Research Society which he chaired from 1971-73. In 2004 he was presented with the Society's Lifetime Achievement Award and from 1970-74 Jones was the first Professor of Design at The Open University, UK.

• List of IllustrationsIntroduction to the revised edition by Clive DilnotForeword by C. Thomas MitchellAuthor's NotePreface to the 1984 editionAcknowledgementsIntroductory Essay: The Future of Breathing1. A Thought RevolvedLove, hate and architectureHow my thoughts about design methods have changed during the yearsNow we are numerousBeyond rationalismPrinciples in design2. The World Without ImaginationSt Ives by chanceComposing by chanceSome reflection on chanceDesigning designing3. It Must Give PleasureOpus one, number two"... in the dimension of Time"Continuous design and redesignThings4. Things of AugustIs designing a response to the whole of life?35 wishesVoices at the conference conferenceThe design of modern lifeUtopia and NumerosoAfterword by John ThackaraIndex

Designing Designing is a particularly redemptive text ... not only because of the immense self-awareness and epistemic humility Jones demonstrates, but also because it explores in both its content and its form what else design and designing could be. In stark contrast to the predictable and stolid reification of design methods, principles, and practices today, this open-ended flexibility and responsiveness in design practice reflects in the structure of the book itself: a diverse collection of essays, personal reflections, anecdotes, conversations, interviews, and poetry.