Exploring the Theory of Product Language in the Contemporary Design Studio
Twentieth International Conference on Design Principles and Practices: Design Across Time, Rome, İtalya, 25 - 27 Şubat 2026, ss.227, (Özet Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
- Doi Numarası: 10.18848/despp/cp7
- Basıldığı Şehir: Rome
- Basıldığı Ülke: İtalya
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.227
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
In design education, we utilize theories to explain how the practice occurs. In this study, we revisit one of these design theories, Offenbach's approach/Theory of Product Language, in the context of the Industrial Design Studio to explore how this theory helps students think about the functions of a product (artefact, service, system) from concrete to more abstract levels. Beyond the modernist functionalist approach, Theory of Product Language (Gros, 1976) extends the scope by defining four (practical, aesthetic, indication/sign, and symbolic) functions to explain how the products work and how they create meanings in various interactions at different levels. In this study, we investigate the implementation of this theory in first-year Basic Design and third-year Industrial Design Studios. We conducted a content analysis of students’ works to identify how they adopt the approach. By exemplifying how these functions were considered in students’ works, we tried to explain how students adopt this approach in their design practice and develop their understanding of societal values. While facing current complex challenges, design requires conveying a new set of values; this study could be seen as a preparatory exercise in design meaning-making, shaping social values and behaviours, enabling more sensitive responses. Even though it dates back to the 1970s, we concluded that this theory remains a highly valuable and comprehensive framework for teaching design students at different levels of value creation and is also adaptable to societal issues.