The Art of Design: from philosphy to practice

Kathryn Jane Moore

This exposition sets out evidence of the research undertaken over the last decade to understand the implications beyond the academy of the new paradigm presented in ‘Overlooking The Visual: Demystifying the Art of Design’ (2010), leading to ‘Towards New Research Methodologies in Design: Shifting Inquiry Away from the Unequivocal Towards the Ambiguous’ (2018). The exposition shows the process of developing ‘The Art of Design’ at a regional scale through a number of sequential case studies. Requiring investigative and analytical drawing from a position of knowledge and the reimagining and re-presenting of places in order to rekindle and reinvent the connection between communities and the space they inhabit, recognising the pride people take in that space, its cultural identity, be it urban, suburban or rural, is very much a modern, contemporary view of how our landscapes work. The ideas expressed in the visual narratives have engaged a wide range of decision makers and are shifting perceptions, planning policy and practices at a local, national and international level. The student work exhibited in 2019 (BCU) explored the spatial implications of the ethos of the West Midlands National Park focused on specific locations and was vital in persuading key regional and national stakeholders of the significance of this new approach. This predominantly visual exposition presents the transformative practice-based research process manifest as visual artefacts from philosophy to practice interrogating the art of design.