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 04

FROM AR T HIS TORY

TO INDUS TRIAL DESIGN
HIS TORY

09

TOWARDS A DESIGN
DRI VEN
BY MODES T Y AND
SHARING

13

SOCIOLOGIS T S AND
DE SIGNERS
ARE THE GEOLOGIS TS
OF SOCIAL ISSUES AND
DE V ELOPMENT

02 TA B L E O F CO N T E N T
 CO - CRE ATION, CROSS - DISCIPLINING
AND RESE ARCH IN DESIGN

How is it that a project-based activity resembling more a practice than

a science and founded on empirical case studies manages to generate
knowledge? How can research in design and research efforts on design
conducted by scholars in other disciplines enrich each other? The 5th
session of Ateliers de la Recherche en Design ® held in Nantes in June 2008
addressed these key issues.

The current issue of CADI, our research journal, settles into the continuity
of these reflections via three contributions pertaining to the topic of cross-
disciplining. Jocelyne Le Boeuf 1, Design Historian, sheds light on her
specialty by referencing the major thought movements of which hers has
become a part over history. She also addresses the current multidisciplinary
research trends, and delves deeper into the role that design history plays
not only in understanding our material environment, but also in designer
practices. Gilles Rougon, Design Manager at Électricité de France (EDF),
elaborates upon design transversality within a company where the primary
product is immaterial 2. Finally, Eloi Le Mouël, Sociologist within the design
department of the RATP (Paris City Transit Authority), underlines during
an interview the similarities and differences between an anthropological
approach with regard to “mobility flows” and the design project practice
from his standpoint as a researcher in the field of social science.

This second issue will be the last of its kind for the journal which has, up
until now, been diffused in printed format. The pursuit of knowledge sharing
will, nonetheless, carry on electronically via the online blog 3. We hope,
therefore, to bring together on a more regular basis, through an
easy-to-access and interactive format, the thoughts, exchanges and work
that nourish our role as active players in design education. Looking forward
to your comments online…

Frédéric Degouzon
Head of Strategy, Research and International Development
f.degouzon@lecolededesign.com

1
Jocelyne Le Bœuf is also Director of Studies at the Ecole
de design Nantes Atlantique and member of CADI’s Edi-
torial committee.
2
Extract of a text fi rst presented at the 2nd session of
Ateliers de la Recherche en Design® held in Nancy
(France) in May 2007.
3
cadi.lecolededesign.com

FOREWORD 03
 FROM AR T HIS TORY
TO INDUS TRIAL DESIGN HIS TORY
1 favors an aesthetic take of objects in relationship to works of art. It also
This second part was cut out due to format purposes. It
was part of a research about 20 th century French design
trend l'esthétique industrielle, fi rst step towards a mo-
nography about Jacques Viénot by J. Le Boeuf.
www.pur-editions.fr/detail.php?idOuv=1078
04
Jocelyne Le Bœuf, Design Historian
Design Histories up for Debate
The 2nd session of Ateliers de la Recherche en Design ® held in Nancy in May
2007 had given me the opportunity to approach the history of of industrial
design through an historiographic lens.
The first part of my contribution was focused on registering this discipline
within the fields of art and architectural history, history of technical culture,
and lastly, in the multifaceted territory of material history, while imposing a
visit on the relationships between history and social sciences. Many books
on the matter came out during the seventies and eighties. Their goal was
not to be exhaustive, but rather purposeful by proposing food for thought.
Neither were they interested in exposing things on an international level.
The material produced in France, however, alluded to research conducted
in other countries, and in particular, the English-speaking world. There are
pioneering writings whose messages resonate abroad as well as research
and debates that come into view at practically the same time in other
countries… It is not always easy to decipher where the boundaries lie.
The second part draws our attention to the interest of an historical
investigation of which the main door 1 could be the design project in its
interdisciplinary dimension, from elaboration to follow-through.
This article tackles conclusions in the form of questions surrounding
historiographic work, but does not go into detail concerning all of the
bibliographic references.
It finishes up with a few references to recent articles published in “Journal of
Design History and Design Issues”.
Just as in any classifi cation attempt, this one is no different in that it, too,
has its limits, is debatable and is to be considered as the outline of a work to
further pursue.
Design history as a branch of art and architectural history
The theories, objects and actors in a design history as a branch of art and
architectural history have helped shape our world on both the material scale
in terms of projects carried out to completion as well as on that concerning
representations. They remain permanent sources of refl ection, mediation
and questioning regarding the way in which mankind builds its relationship
with the world. The two emerging figures there within are the icon and the
creator. The iconic character, referring back to art history and applied arts,
leads the design historian into a kind of polarization on the author which
does not make a lot of sense considering the majority of industrialization-
bred products.
A R T I C L E 01
The history of emblematic design objects, presented as works of art, is Esthétique Industrielle n° 2, 1951
seldom explained in greater detail with regard to economical aspects,
manufacturing contexts and mediations specifi c to industrial design. It fails
to realize the diversity of design solutions responsible for building a world
which is far from being solely inhabited by icons.

In this regard, J.A. Walker (Design History and the History of Design) brings
up a relevant question regarding symptomatic silences and dead-ends of
an industrial design history subjected to the ideology of “good design” (no
history on the design of concentration camps, gas chambers and torture
devices, for example): “what would we think of general histories which only
described good people and happy events? 2”
Design history, contained within the scope of a history of icons, is tied to
a romantic vision where the figure of the charismatic “grand designer” is
just as present. The reference to the creator makes one believe in a possible
reconciliation between individual creative potential and mass production,
praising those companies having what it took to call upon renowned
designers. The design historian is also forced to look more closely at
his/her role amid the media circus.

Design history as a branch of the history of technical

culture and industrial history

The history of large-scale technical systems, materials and innovations

studied in the context of their impact on companies and mindsets provides
the industrial design historian with key elements of knowledge. But
his/her aim is not to examine the design process, a crucial factor with regard
to how form and usage are defined and approached.

When the Ministry of Culture’s Cultural Heritage Inventory sets out to

implement a national tracking program of industrial heritage sites in the
eighties, the study of industrial architecture, plants and manufacturing
machinery becomes the object of a growing interest compared to previous
years 3. Deindustrialization leads to a movement where cultural landmarks
replace manufacturing plants and to an increasing interest in the history
of techniques. Historians tackle major syntheses in industrial architecture,
putting architecture at the heart of social works, mentalities and economic
phenomena 4 . In these works, industrial design is not perceived as such. That
said, they tweak the overall historical framework and leave significant room
for growth.
In an initial monograph from 1974 5, Jocelyn de Noblet casts a critical eye
on an artistic take on design, and ends up asserting the link between the
history of technical culture and design. He creates the Centre de Recherche
sur la Culture technique (CRCT) in 1978 in conjunction with directors of
studies from large French and foreign companies and universities. For
fourteen years, the magazine Culture technique provided the means to
diffuse research conducted at the CRCT (http://documents.irevues.inist.
fr/handle/2042/28357). In another work, Design : le geste et le compas 6,
Jocelyn de Noblet examines different sectors from the viewpoint of
social and technological evolution (home, offi ce space, military design,
transportation), and exposes new perspectives in historical research. It
also happens to be a time where design questions become more and more
prevalent in engineering science literature, and the famous colloquium held
in Cerisy, France, entitled Les nouveaux régimes de la conception, langages,
théories, métiers exhibits a readiness, willingness and commitment among
the areas concerned to dialogue7.
2
John A. Walker, Design History and the History of De-
sign, Chicago, Pluto Press, 1989, p. 33.
3
Maurice Daumas, L’Archéologie industrielle en
France, Paris, Laffont, 1980. Jacques Pinard, Le patri-
moine industriel, Paris, PUF, 1985. Jean-Yves Andrieux,
Le patrimoine industriel, Paris, PUF, coll. Que sais-je?
no. 2657, 1992. Louis Bergeron and Gracia Dorel-Fer-
ré, Le patrimoine industriel, un nouveau territoire, ed.
Liris, 1996.
4
Refer to François Loyer, Le siècle de l’industrie, 1789 -
1914, Paris, Skira, coll. De Architectura, 1983.
5
Jocelyn de Noblet, Design, Paris, Stock-Chêne, 1974.
6
Jocelyn de Noblet, Design: le geste et le compas, Pa-
ris, Somogy, 1988.
7
Directed by Armand Hatchuel and Benoît Weil, Les nou-
veaux régimes de la conception, langages, théories,
métiers, Vuibert, coll. Entreprendre, 2009.

A R T I C L E 01 05
 Design history as a branch of history of material and
immaterial culture (transversal approaches in history and
social sciences)

In an article published in Design Issues 8, design historian Victor Margolin

states that material culture often gets the short end of the stick with regard
to history. He recalls the term "product milieu" that he had originally coined
back in 1990 in order to promote research on “the human-made material
and immaterial objects, activities, and services; and complex systems or
environments that constitute the domain of artificial.” He also provides
a very detailed study on the contemporary historiographic landscape,
pleading for a design history bound to other history research fields. The
notions of “world history of design” (Victor Margolin) and “global design
history” (Glenn Adamson, Giorgio Riello and Sarah Teasley) have for many
years paved the way for research that brings into question the theoretical
and epistemic framework of a design history based on Western values.

In this vast territory of material culture, the transversal approaches in the

different disciplines of history and between history and social sciences
uncover very diverse paths that are tricky to summarize:
– relationships between the arts and techniques within the framework of a
sociological art form,
– studies of the object in its historical context on a broad scale (institutional,
economical, social): one of the preferred areas is that of domestic arts and
crafts which accompanied the entire social thought movement on design-
related progress,
– sociological and anthropological approaches of social mechanisms and
relationships between man and his material environment.

The exploratory field leads to new design histories / stories in design

where the notion of immaterial culture 9 encompasses numerous writings
inspired by semiology and sociology, and most notably where a whole
wave of anthropological views on consumption settles in. Different levels of
understanding come into contact. The rumors and values conveyed by the
8 media, which have an impact on design production, are also analyzed.
vol. X X V n° 2., Spring 2009, p. 94-105
9
In her article, “The Production-Consumption-Mediation Paradigm” 10,
The session entitled, “Immaterial Culture? Things, Arti-
facts and Meanings” (A AH, Association of Art Historians, Grace Lees Maffei explains that consumer study approaches took on a new
Annual Conference - University of Ulster, Belfast, 12-14 scope starting in the nineties in both history and social sciences. The new
April 2007), presented by Deborah Sugg Ryan (Journal of
dimension brought with it work from other French intellects of the time,
Design History, UK) and Timo de Rijk (Delft University of
Technology, Netherlands), highlights a new design histo- Jean Baudrillard and various structuralist and post-structuralist studies
ry inspired among others by the written works of Pierre as well as research stemming from British cultural studies. Grace Lees-
Bourdieu (how cultural productions reveal and trigger re-
Maffei’s presentation identifies three leading types of reading at various
productive mechanisms of social hierarchies) and Da-
niel Miller (anthropological approach of consumption). stages in design history (production-consumption-mediation), where former
It also made reference to the written works of both Judy approaches are not replaced but rather enhanced by those that follow. With
Attfi eld, pioneer in this type of research, and socio-an-
regard to the last type (mediation), three aspects are envisioned: the talks
thropologist, Bruno Latour, (“sociology of the actor-
network theory” which considers social players to be and representations driven by the media, and thus, their role as intermediary
not only human beings, but also objects and organiza- between production and consumption, the study of media itself, and finally,
tions, and which examines the social setting as a se-
the study of products as an expression of mediation. In the book-magazine,
ries of consecutive interactions enforced by heteroge-
neous players). MEI (Mediation & Information), issues 30-31 an article by Gavin Melles
10 suggests that design be viewed as a “cultural intermediary” likely to instill
The Production-Consumption-Mediation Paradigm,
values that go beyond strict commercial objectives11.
Journal of Design History, Special Issue: The Current
State of Design History, ed. by Hazel Clark and David
Brody, vol. 22, n° 4, 2009, p. 351-376. The obvious purpose of all of this research for design history is to question
11
the boundaries of disciplinary fields and to make readers aware that those
Objets & Communication, under the supervision of
Bernard Darras and Sarah Belkhama, L’Harmattan, MEI, boundaries might be blurry.
no. 30 -31, Paris, 2009, p. 269.

06 A R T I C L E 01
The questions raised from the necessary focus on history and social
sciences and the equally indispensable dialogue that must arise between
them match the interdisciplinary character of any project in industrial
design.
Whether we side with the programs and actors or with usage and
representations, the act of theorizing is expected to discern what will come
specifically from this discipline (industrial design history) so as to better
grasp how to sound out other disciplinary fields.
The historian’s second glance 12
If the notion of project is at the very heart of design-related thinking and
activities, it would appear to me that this notion offers up a relevant thread
for historical research. The extensive work conducted by Jean-Pierre
Boutinet13 on what a “project” actually entails in our Western societies,
assessed in its multidimensional perspective provides particularly
advantageous subject matter wherein to try out our methods and tools.
The consequences that our design actions have on the environment
coupled with innovation-induced economic and social issues put design
in contradictory territory. A look back in time putting into perspective
the forces at work and the role of different actors could stimulate new
thought on current practices. Which education14, culture, design philosophy
(founding theories15, accompanying ones, captivating speech patterns16 )
were influential? In what vision of humanity is the project embedded? At
a certain point, what kinds of echoes are followed by “accompanying”
speeches concerning the practice of design?
The philosopher Paul Ricoeur, alluded to “transhistorical invariants”
to express that “… history is not the only thing separating us from the
past (strangeness of history) …” but that “… it is also what we are going
through, […] what brings us closer to what history seems to be taking
away.”17 In addition, there is this proposal of a history linked to current
research and practices18 shedding light on the complexity of situations,
their diversity and responsibility issues that we would like to see emerge.
A R T I C L E 01
12
Expression borrowed from Edgar Morin who talks about
the epistemic viewpoint that stresses the importance of
the present in the reconstruction of the past, Relier les
connaissances, le défi du XXe siècle, specially-desig-
ned days hosted by Edgar Morin, 16 -24 March 1998, Pa-
ris, ed. Du Seuil, 1999, p. 351.
13
Jean-Pierre Boutinet, Anthropologie du projet, PUF,
coll. Psychologie d’aujourd’hui, 1st edition 1990. This
work has been edited many times. See also Ed Qua-
drige, 2005. Jean-Pierre Boutinet, Grammaire des
conduites à projet, Formation et pratiques profes-
sionnelles, PUF, 2009.
14
Alain Findeli’s book, Le Bauhaus de Chicago, l’œuvre
pédagogique de Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Les éditions
du Septentrion, Québec, (Klincksieck for the European
broadcast), 1995, as expressed by Franck Popper in his
preface, this is a fi ne example of putting into context
“the problems between design and the technology of
our generation as well as that of the instruction of future
artists and designers.”
15
Refer to the conference text, L’Éclipse de l’objet dans
les théories du design, Alain Findeli and Rabah Bous-
baci, topic proposed at the 6th international colloquium
and biennial of the Académie européenne de design (Eu-
ropean Academy of design, EAD), Bremen, March 2005,
on the theme of Design-Système-Évolution.
16
We refer here to the very practical and relevant analysis
proposed by Anne Cauquelin in Les Théories de l’art,
Paris, PUF, (1998 ) 1999.
17
Paul Ricoeur, Le passé avait un futur, Relier les connais-
sances, le défi du X Xe siècle, specially-designed days
hosted by Edgar Morin, 16 -24 Marchmars 1998, Paris,
ed. Du Seuil, 1999, p. 297-304.
18
Sarah A. Lichtman provides an interesting perspective
on the ties between history and professional applica-
tion through teaching, Reconsidering the History of
Design Survey, Journal of Design History (special is-
sue, The Current State of Design History, edited by
Hazel Clark and David Brody, volume 22, n° 4, 2009, p.
341-350.
07
 BIOGR APH Y
Jocelyne Le Bœuf is Director of Studies at L'École de design Nantes
Atlantique. She teaches art history and design. She has published several
texts about design and runs a blog dedicated to design history:
http://designethistoires.lecolededesign.com/

Publications

– Le Bœuf, Jocelyne, Le design. In: 1950-2000 – Arts contemporains (ed.

Camille Saint-Jacques), Paris: Autrement & SCÉRÉN-CNDP, 2002.

– Le Bœuf, Jocelyne, Jacques Viénot (1893-1959), pionnier de l’esthétique

industrielle en France. Rennes: PUR, 2006, coll. Art&Société.

– Le Bœuf, Jocelyne, J. Jacques Viénot and the "Esthétique industrielle" in

France (1920-1960). Design Issues, Winter 2006, 22.1, Cambridge: The MIT
Press, 2006, p. 46-64.

08 A R T I C L E 01
 TOWARDS A DESIGN DRIVEN
BY MODES T Y AND SHARING
Gilles Rougon, Design Manager, EDF R&D

What is about to follow is the result of ten years in design management at

the heart of EDF’s Research & Development division… This article takes
into consideration the confrontation between the teaching of an everyday
practice and thoughts on design’s role in the workplace.

Five design qualities…

The public tends to recall but one phase in the design process, and that is its
ability to formalize, very tempting for many due to its visibility.
This, equally, is the case for many companies, which call upon the
profession once they have reached the end of their concept phases.

Beneath the visible part, though, lie four other value-added qualities for both
the user and company:

1 constructive criticism that a designer uses to “bounce back” positively

from feedback shared by various project players,
2 sound conviction, allowing to objectively back the creative process during
each phase,
3 ability to summarize through visuals (information, complex systems, etc.),
4 mediation triggered by a design project often subjected to diverging
issues and limitations.

Each of these five qualities appears in other professions which relate them,
as in the case of design, to innovation. . . But it is their combined presence in
design that makes this transversal industry a real tool for change.

A Few Words about Exploratory Design

Fig. 1: EDF Design's Exploratory
Design Process
We will insert here an hypothesis that “upstream design” encompasses COMPANY

studies in exploratory design, advanced design (ahead of the competition)

FREE
and communication of new concepts (internal and external to the company). OBJECT
QUESTION
OBJECT
WAY
In numerous sectors, companies propose product/service concepts with ART
OBJECT
PRE- MARKET
CREATION
various objectives in mind. . . Since EDF is not a manufacturer of electric FIELD
OBJECT

appliances, EDF R&D Design had to rapidly determine and put in place its
exploratory design process. UTILITARIAN
OBJECT

As shown in figure 1, exploratory design bridges the gap between the art CUSTOMER

world, that of ”liberal objects” (free from order and often critical) and the
market that is industry-fed with “utilitarian objects.” This exploratory design
process takes root in creative thinking and aims to come up with new “life
systems”1 via three types of deliverables:
1
1 The question object can have a lasting impact on the mode of contact “Life systems”: expression borrowed from Elsa Frances;
between the company and its customers. It goes in search of fruit-bearing Director of the Cité du Design, Saint-Etienne, France.

ARTICLE 02 09
 endings for the various parts and brings about collective exchange by widely
diffusing these scenarios.

2 The way object provides relevant solutions for the customer and those
economically lucrative for the company, beginning with a well-assessed
issue, a question object or other.

3 The pre-object, a true portal to innovation, aims to favor the commercial

success of the prospective offer. It is not about a pre-series prototype.

A study in exploratory design will not necessarily go through the three types
of deliverables to the degree where their roles are different… May it also be
noted that this exploratory design process implicitly encourages a policy of
work- and/or result-sharing both in-house and externally.

EDF R&D Design participates in myriad short workshops 2 in addition to

longer exploratory-oriented programs 3.

Design, modesty and sharing?

Industrial design has several paths available, some leading to “celebrity

status” or extreme communication, others to chosen anonymity.

By applying its five qualities to a prospective multi-player creative initiative,

design contributes to:
– encouraging the sustainability of our companies regardless of whether it
has to do with the environment, ethics or the economy,
– generating exploratory visions related to numerous players, in-house and
outside the company,
– ensuring prospect transparency to the public and to the majority of
company players.

Through this exploratory practice, industrial design invites us to reflect

humbly upon the notion of co-creation.

We are not only interested in furthering co-creation and open source

processes arising from the technology advances of Web 2.0… If the latter
offers technological solutions allowing an individual (end-user, customer
or not) to be associated with how a company puts together an offer, each
can reflect on the driving force behind co-creation: is it the internet user,
the company… or the tool? We still have in mind that not so long ago, IT
modelization tools (2D, 3D) sometimes prevailed in the designers' minds
over ideas or creativity, which was very detrimental to the variety, depth and
relevance of the concepts thus thought up.

Studies in exploratory design provide an environment for sharing

information, competencies and experiences. . . They draw us in by
addressing our ability to invent an age of industrial co-creation favored by
recourse to a universal language: drawing (sketches, storyboard, animation,
3D, etc.). . . Thanks to its five qualities, design can play a part there amid
2 an ever-increasingly complex world of service engineering with diverse
Example: Involvement in CREDO (Cooperation in Re- economic and non-economic players.
search and Education for Design Options), organized by
L'École de design Nantes Atlantique - Recto/ Verso, “Les
lumières de la Cité idéale”, 19 through 26 April 2008. Unfortunately exploratory design is often hindered: when one has to
3 confront cultural difficulties in the workplace, among economic players, or
Joint research program between EDF R&D and the Cité
du Design in Saint-Etienne (France), initiated in Novem-
to reinvent the rules of industrial property, or even to overcome temporal
ber 2006. and economic slowdowns... But should we refrain from undertaking any

10 ARTICLE 02
project just because we are faced with diffi culty?

With its five assets and creative projection in hand, design continually
reinvents our life spaces. Using the human factor as a springboard, it helps
foster innovation and cross-disciplining by opening up possibilities between
industrial activities and forging new partnerships among customers,
companies and institutions.

As if, in the end, economic competition could lead us but to… cooperation!

ARTICLE 02 11
 BIOGR APH Y
With an undergraduate multidisciplinary degree from Centrale Lille (French
engineering school) followed by post-graduate studies in Electrical Engi-
neering (DEA-USTL) and Industrial Design (DESS-UTC), Gilles Rougon fi rst
started out with Fichet-Bauche where he redesigned a compact fireproof
wardrobe. In 1999, he joined EDF’s Research & Development division with a
primary focus on “sustainable design.”
G. Rougon today heads up the Integrated Design team for EDF’s R&D divi-
sion, responsible for conducting exploratory design studies and accompa-
nying the company’s technological developments. He is involved with the
launch of EDF’s Sustainable Design Challenge (http://research.edf.com/re-
search-and-innovation-44204.html).
Based on his experience, G. Rougon considers design as a strategic asset for
companies who use information as a raw material.

Publications
– G. Rougon, EDF et le design exploratoire, in: Musée des Arts Décoratifs,
Paris, 24 May 2007.
– G. Rougon, Design exploratoire, in: Le cercle Design et Marque, ANVIE,
host: B. Heilbrun, 7 November 2007.
– G. Rougon, Design soutenable et énergie, in: Colloque Écodesign, Centre
du Design Rhône Alpes, 16 November 2007.
– G. Rougon, Design: donner à voir des futurs, in: Les tables rondes du futur,
La Fabrique du Futur, 15 January 2008. http://www.lafabriquedufutur.org/
TablesRondesduFuturDesign.html
– G. Rougon, Écologie matérielle: du darwinisme des objets, in: Cycle de
conférences Confluences des savoirs Le XXIe siècle, le siècle du végétal?,
ENS Lyon, 1 April 2008. www.museedesconfluences.fr.
– G. Rougon, Light is more: l’homme et l’environnement, moteurs d’innova-
tion d’usage et technologique, Design Développement v5.0, L'École de de-
sign Nantes Atlantique, 10 December 2009.

12 ARTICLE 02
 SOCIOLOGIS TS AND DESIGNERS
ARE THE GEOLOGIS TS OF SOCIAL
ISSUES AND DE VELOPMENT
An interview with Éloi Le Mouêl, Sociologist, RATP

Cadi: Eloi Le Mouël, you joined the Design Management team of the RATP
(French public transport company) led by Y. Kaminagai in 2006 as Sociology
Researcher and Project Manager in cultural engineering and design
management. What does your job entail? With whom specifi cally have you
worked?

This particular position gives rise to a triple interaction based on permanent

knowledge transfer. Firstly, cultural engineering could almost be defined as
prospective design: designing from start to finish one-of-a-kind train stations
which serve as testing grounds for innovative materials. […] Next, design
processes are incorporated into these prospective studies. Each major project
is subject to RFPs (requests for proposals), rigorously laid-out specifications
and rough drafts, which are then reviewed not only by artistic commissions,
naturally, but also technically-savvy ones (feasibility, safety procedures
specific to public transport, maintenance, etc.), a rarity in the field. Lastly, I
decided to put the current “bridges” connecting sociological research and
design to the test in the everyday. Sociology, and most likely that of the
Chicago-bred school of thought, is characterized by an obligation to act and
be acted upon by one's research field. Being physically “tangled up in one’s
environment” is an indispensable antecedent to enabling oneself to resurface
from such a situation and, in turn, examine it closely. As perceived by many
designers, it relates to a sociology of action, “in the being and in the doing”,
which aims to “identify big issues in small situations” (I. Joseph) as well as
enrich the notion of landscape in order to obtain ever-evolving “usage-infused
landscapes” (J.P. Thibaud), landscapes defined by users in motion. Industrial
design, however, intended to act upon spaces utilized daily by hundreds of
thousands of travelers, is clearly “user-oriented.” It calls for a certain amount
of investigation, even if a little, during the project management process. The
investigation time is an integral part of risk management for its involvement in
the early stages ensures that specifications formulate the right questions prior
to seeking the right answers. In parallel, the researcher can no longer remain
in observation mode, and is thrust directly into the action. […]

Cadi: The project timeframe is fairly straightforward even if analysis is

present during each phase.

Yes. We align ourselves accordingly, and adhere to the given timeframe of a

project. I will attempt to clarify the pre-project phase. The work involved with
preparing the functional specifications or design document could be viewed
as the ideal meeting point with the sketch, preliminary or detailed design
phases acting as the hand-over. […] It’s a subtle game.

Design management and sociology methodologies can interact on many

levels. More often than not, large corporations have a tendency to entrust
their marketing or public relations departments with market studies,
consumer research and needs analyses. In my opinion, sociologists and

INTERVIEW 13
 designers have alternative answers to give, not better, but without a doubt,
different and complimentary. They are, in a way, the “geologists” of both
social issues and development: geologists set out to understand the lay of
the land around them as well as the multitude of reasons surrounding its
formation and its evolution. Sociologists and designers are constantly seeking
to understand the world, the city, the street, the place and the component
which appear before them; their nature, their functionality, their capacity for
improvement.

Cadi: Here you're talking about action-based research linked with a context
and acting upon real surroundings…

Absolutely. Designers are fortunate to be able to transform into reality the

efforts put forth by the RATP in order to optimize both the quality perceived
and experienced by those in the heart of its spaces. The subway system
accommodates 1.5 billion individuals each year (versus 1 billion in the
eighties for nearly equivalent spaces), therefore, the stakes are high and the
challenge an imposing one when it comes to producing accessible, reliable
and accommodating spaces. In light of this somewhat slippery ground, it
goes without saying that the viewpoints of both sociologists and designers
regarding functional and well-founded space planning are paramount.

Cadi: Given the size of the equipment coupled with an element of strategic
dimension, there is actually little room for mistakes.

Yes, and at the same time, what is wonderful about it is that we do make
mistakes every single day! It is, no doubt, the sociologist speaking here.
Ultimately, I would say that we can never truly predict how travelers will
“use and act in” a given space. Beyond a quantitative traffic flow study,
we are continually caught off-guard by innovative, unexpected and mind-
boggling behavior patterns. […] By incorporating this complexity into the
specifications, we shift our approach to no longer setting out to repair, but
rather sensing, anticipating and designing spaces that are perpetually in
motion and will still be in service fi fty years from now. […]

Cadi: What is the difference between design and sociology?

The main difference between sociology and design lies in their end result:
the design field is less directly interested in what makes a society, less
political and oriented more towards a purpose. It has, in fine, more to do
with knowing how to design better in order to live better, or even sell better.
Design could best be described as being at the hub of three fields:
pragmatic social philosophy and human sciences (understanding real
events in action), engineering (understanding the logics of functional design
engineering, mechanics, etc.) and marketing (understanding the needs,
value and commercial aspect). It could just be the missing link between
those areas which continue to ignore each other today, […] reconciling
usage, functionality and sensitivity.

14 INTERVIEW
 BIOGR APH Y
Eloi Le Mouël holds a PhD in sociology attained at the University of Nanterre
Paris Ouest (France). He specializes in urban sociology. Currently Project
Manager in the Design and Space Identity department of the RATP led by
Yo Kaminagai, he conducted his research, first under the direction of Isaac
Joseph followed by Alain Milon, on the challenges of culture and design in
public transport spaces. Author of various articles and co-author of nume-
rous books on the topic, he has since broadened his research scope along-
side Alain Milon by taking a closer look, using culture and design, at the
relationship among transport, urban and public spaces.

Conscious of the need to complement his work experience with his research
and vice versa, he recognizes not only in his involvement at symposiums
and conferences, but equally in his Master’s program in urbanism, architec-
ture and artistic and cultural action, the opportunity to intersect these two
similar, yet distinct skill sets.

INTERVIEW 15
The “CADI” research journals are published
by L’École de design Nantes Atlantique.

Director of publication: Christian Guellerin

Editorial board: Frédéric Degouzon, Jocelyne Le Bœuf
Translation: Krista Schmidtke
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Graphic design: Audrey Templier, Yves Mestrallet, éditions MeMo
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Contributors to this issue: Jocelyne Le Bœuf, Gilles Rougon, Éloi Le Mouël.

Any part of this issue may be reproduced under conditions specifi ed

in the Creative Commons license.
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Write to CADI: cadi@lecolededesign.com

CADI issue # 2, February 2011. ISSN 1962-3593.
www.lecolededesign.com

Member of the academic cluster PRES L'Université Nantes Angers Le Mans