Confirming experience: Being Present During Reflective Conversations

If sketching is a reflective conversation, then confirming the qualities of one’s experience is a major skill. This paper presents a discussion about the difficulties and importance of confirming experience for designers. The paper is concerned with role of experience for industrial designers, as they apply their discipline skills and knowledge, to explore frames and solution opportunities, through sketch development. Research into meditation is used to consider the training needs of designers to support them in becoming a reflective practitioner. The paper argues that designing for a project community means connecting deeply with the narratives of people within that community, being mindful of these narratives while exploring frames and solution opportunities and being responsive to the changes in one’s experience during sketch experimentation. The paper concludes that the skill of connecting with one’s experience of the present moment supports reflective conversations and can be consciously developed to the benefit of design practitioners