Do It Yourself and Improvisation: toward one another epistemology of design

Abstract

This paper discusses Do It Yourself practices from what is considered as its most important action strategy: improvisation. The text demonstrates that improvisation as a creative action significantly transcends the understanding and value assigned by common sense and design culture. Initially, the attributes of improvisation will be presented from an artistic point of view. Such attributes will be then compared with action-centered design methodologies regarding Donald Schön's reflection-in-action theory. Based on the notion of improvisational knowledge, a detailed analysis of the nature of Do It Yourself behaviors and procedures will be presented, in observance of its most significant movements such as the Maker Culture and the Open Design. The paper's intent is to argue that improvisation is an extraordinary creative procedure apt to be systematized and incorporated into contemporary design processes. We believe that improvisation conveys potential to review contemporary design from an epistemological perspective.