Design approaches in the contemporary scene: Structural essay on the relations between theory and practice

This study presents a structural essay that aims to bring forward the relationship between society and Design by exploring the relations between theory and practice, and how they respond differently to social changes. Such development stems from the understanding of the Design profession as the result of three major historical processes: industrialization, modern urbanization, and globalization, considering the challenges that arise from them. Based on theoretical reference, a framework of analysis is proposed, which considers the multiple views upon the Design activity. A classification for the so-called Design approaches was built in three categories – habilitations, emphases, and transversal content – aiming to comprehend the possible relations among them. Both the structural essay and the proposed characterization intent to open space for the discussion about the different visions upon the area of Design and how they conjugate theory and practice with the constant social change that impacts the exercise and thinking about the profession. Keywords: design theory, contemporary scenario, theory and practice, design approaches.