The Logic of Design Process: Invention and Discovery in Light of the Semiotics of Charles S. Peirce

What is the logic of the design process? Departing from this question and focusing on processes of invention and discovery, Tiago da Costa e Silva investigates the characteristic feature of every projective activity, for instance, in architecture, design, engineering design, and in the arts. In opposition to predominant views that understand design processes as mechanical, this study with the help of the semiotics of Charles S. Peirce characterizes design activities as a continuous and serendipitous interplay of processes of aesthetic experience, of defining rules, and of manifesting forms. Da Costa e Silva concludes that invention and discovery are intrinsic to every development in any given design context.