Reading Designers – Empirical type theory of the designer profession

 

»Designer lesen« (eng. reading Designers) concerns the »personality« of designers and asks questions about specific personal character patterns as well as possible differentiations between them. To what extent can significant ways of thinking or behaviour patterns be defined as a differentiation to other individuals or groups? On the assumption that the education of a certain character initiates and defines decisions, it would apply as well to the profession choice. This means that a person has certain traits which bring, or even enable him to become a designer.

Of course not all designers are the same, rather than stablishing a certain amount of trait intersections, the book tries to investigate the addition of all of them to a distinguishable group. The genesis of this partial conformance is led back on genetic factors, but above all, on the education and conditioning by the social environment.

Based on this thesis this »special« character is investigated from the perspective of a designer. The focus here is the exact description of the personal character, the associated distinction in and outside this group and the characterization of the sum of all designers from psychological, sociological and empirical aspects. Additionally the book concentrates on the substantial differences within this group as well as on finding your own position.

 

The first instrument for the characterisation is a personality test in which more than 300 German designers have taken part. The evaluation shows that the respondents are only present in a minority of the wide range of possible personality types. Furthermore, with a second test the usual stereotypes are checked for it’s accuracy. In the next step designers are examined under the consideration of Pierre Bourdieu’s habitus-theory and located in his class-theoretical social space model.

 

The result consists of the previously mentioned analyses and the personal observations and experiences. It delivers a description of the designer’s characteristic qualities as well as their potential for career or success. In addition, it indicates the differences between designers and „non-designers“, refering mainly to the communication between both groups. At last, possible using fields of the conclusions are proposed and the differences and negative developments within the scene are described.

 

The cover of the book is customized for every owner individually on the basis of his personality profile. For that, a shortened version of the personality test needs to be done, so that the resulting graph can be displayed on the book cover. Therefore, each book becomes a personal unique spesimen influenced by your own character.