The Problem of the Correct Answer

Design schools propose to teach students how to design. In part, this proposition is carried out by asking students questions, many different kinds of questions, in many different forms and formats, and in different media. Some of the questions put to students have to do with issues and ideas about designing. What is the “answer” to a design question? This is a question that almost all design students ask. What is the “correct answer” to a design question? How does one discover the correct answer to a design question? Do design questions even have “answers,” not to mention “correct” or singular answers?

Questions about design decisions, and about the works that result from those decisions, usually involve an explanation and an evaluation of the process that led to the creation of the work. We may additionally seek an explication and evaluation of the work itself, apart from development and process issues. These kinds of questions are called “design questions.” When students are asked such questions, they expect that correct, singular answers exist. I propose that this response is not unreasonable but is inappropriate, and even counterproductive, to the goal of learning how to design.