Anticipatory knowledge for 4th Order design: The diagnostic work of planning design actions

Creating space for well-informed planning and preparation for design actions motivated Charles Owen to long ago separate concept development into a discrete stage at the front-end of design. In the decades since, design’s concerns have expanded beyond signs, symbols, things, services and activities – reflective of Richard Buchanan’s first three Orders of Design, and the matters of concern addressed by Owen in his writing. As design’s concerns turn to thoughts, such as the intangible social constructs of systems and organizations, which Buchanan considers the 4th Order of Design, we are motivated to ask how might we re-orient the value of separating front-end planning from actual designing, as originally conceived by Owen, for this purpose. Our contribution of diagnostic work is discussed after an example of a 4th Order design planning study.