디자인 개념의 인식론적 정초를 향한 탐색

(Background and Purpose) How should we perceive designs before the logic of the fourth industrial revolution, opening up the age of hyper-connectivity? Until now, designs have relied solely on the performance of science and technology while flowing at the speeds of productionism and consumerism, and, consequently, it has led to a lack of ethics in the socio-cultural domain. Designs no longer only address external aesthetics and functionality. Now, the design process itself requires the capacity to create a new intangible value, that is, to be able to breathe organically around human life. Therefore, this study aims at exploring the epistemological foundation for the general concept of design in order to find a proper theoretical direction to cope with the future paradigm. (Method) In order to explore the epistemological balance for the concept of design, this study has revealed the previous concepts of design epistemology. The methods of this study are as follows: First, by exploring the relationship between the paradigm shift and the concept of design in the fourth industrial revolution, a meaning of social designs was evaluated. Second, by investigating the factors to be included in the convergence education for designs, the necessity of converging designs and merging them with humanities was evaluated. Third, based on analysis findings and the concept of design, which was contextualized throughout, this study suggested a proper epistemological direction for design knowledge, which should be structured afterwards. (Results) The following findings were revealed through the exploration of the general concept of designs to be adjusted in accordance with the recent paradigm shift. First, it was found that there are some evident ethical issues resulting from the contradiction between revolutionary facts of science and technology and human life, and these ethical issues have resulted in a demand for designers to have a contextual design. Second, it was found that designers should have humanistic and ecological knowledge to have a sense of responsibility for the design environment, so it would be important to promote the reviews and critiques of designs. Third, only when cross-sectional integrated reason is available would the capability to create an integrated design be available. Therefore, the multidisciplinary approach should be made first and it should be made with the convergence education for design. (Conclusions) The concept of design has become a prerequisite condition for the system required for social innovation. For this, the general concept of design, which contained both the value of product and the value of life, became structured while causing various dynamic events after being applied in various fields including criticism, education, and design theory. It also needed a position to accommodate the activation of socially diverse discourses and interesting insights.