Title: Reflections on the potential of risk in the design process

Authors: Tássia Ruiz; Celso Carnos Scaletsky; Stan Ruecker

Addresses: Pos Graduate Program in Design, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos – UNISINOS, Av. Dr. Nilo Peçanha, 1600 – Porto Alegre, RS, 91330-002 – Brazil ' Pos Graduate Program in Design, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos – UNISINOS, Av. Dr. Nilo Peçanha, 1600 – Porto Alegre, RS, 91330-002 – Brazil ' Design Research Fellow, College of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 111 N. Market St. #2Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

Abstract: The concept 'risk' carries great theoretical potential for a better comprehension of the design process. The purpose of this paper is to identify and think about risk in the design process as it has been treated by authors of the area. In the same way, it tries to investigate how other areas of knowledge approach the theme. The exploratory nature of this research seeks to make explicit risk in design as a symbolic weft woven throughout the process, which stimulates the raising of new questions and expands the possibilities of project choice. Although risk related to design outcomes should generally be minimised, risk understood during the design process as 'taking risks', as opposed to 'playing it safe', is important for projects with goals that involve changing the status quo.

Keywords: risk; risk concept; risk potentials; design processes risks; strategic design; taking risks; project processes.

DOI: 10.1504/JDR.2021.124216

Journal of Design Research, 2021 Vol.19 No.4/5/6, pp.185 - 196

Received: 14 Oct 2020
Accepted: 03 Mar 2021
Published online: 18 Jul 2022 *

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