Metaphors in design: an analysis of how we represent design expertise.

Design and design expertise are often argued about and rarely agreed upon by the design community, which is a result of their multifaceted nature and existing underlying assumptions, theoretical anomalies and fragmented knowledge in the field. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) suggest that metaphors structure our perceptions and understanding. Metaphors affect the way we categorise experiences and organise our ideas (ibid). Based on this argument , the paper investigates the visual and cognitive metaphors related to design, in particular, design expertise (DE), to address how these metaphors shape our understanding of DE. It examines how DE is represented through the use of metaphors and explores the use of metaphors as a tool to recognise, share and acquire expertise. This paper examines several metaphors, which are identified mainly through reviewing the literature on design knowledge and skills and existing interviews conducted with designers. The metaphors are analysed in a framework that identifies the linguistic roots, associated meanings, underlying theories and their possible impacts on the design discipline. The analysis of these metaphors reveals characteristics, strengths and limits of how we understand and describe DE. This analysis and discussion will contribute to strengthen an individual's comprehension and positioning on design expertise. It will also input towards how we communicate DE, and how we exchange knowledge, ideas, experiences and skills within the design and business communities, who often do not share the same language and mindset