Jay Doblin Part II: A Scientific Approach
How Doblin helped the field of design move toward rigor, replicability, and methodologies.
Minicam Magazine (Vol. 3, No. 7): Make a Light Modulator (1940/1940) by László Moholy-NagyInstitute of Design (ID) at Illinois Tech
Moving away from artistic experimentation
Although Doblin respected Moholy, his approach to design education deviated from his predecessor’s preference for artistic experimentation.
Hierarchal MatrixInstitute of Design (ID) at Illinois Tech
Embracing a scientific approach
With little patience for what he called Moholy’s “diddling attitude,” where “every experiment led to four more experiments,” Doblin preferred measured, methodological experimentation.
Tipping Cup Over #4Institute of Design (ID) at Illinois Tech
The teacup experiments
Doblin’s experimentalism was largely based on the scientific method, in which an enduring constant was subjected to varied conditions. One exemplary project was the so-called teacup experiment, which Doblin conducted in collaboration with students over several decades.
“By some measures he spent at least 15 years analyzing teacups. Every year he would figure out a different assignment to give students that would be about teacups.”
— Larry Keeley, Former President and Co-Founder, Doblin Inc.
“[Doblin] decided to take a simple product and, using an experimental procedure, examine the relationships between form and function. . . . some of the questions asked were: ‘How do the proportions of the cup affect its tippiness? How does handle design affect the ability to pick up and hold a cup?’”
— Chuck Owen, Systems Design Pioneer and Professor at the Institute of Design
Graph of Cup Factors: Slosh, Stack, Stability, Heat Loss, Clean, Fill, Lift, DrinkInstitute of Design (ID) at Illinois Tech
The results of such experiments were subsequently recorded, enabling each of the various teacup forms to be graded and cross-compared against the cup’s functional requirements.
This manner of structuring task-based affordances—that is, the key activities a given design needs to facilitate—reflected Doblin’s approach. The learning was hands-on, experiential, and discovery-based.
"Jay [advocated for] letting go of its idiosyncrasies, the artiness of it all, while retaining the creativity. He thought that if design was ever going to enter the domain of professional practice it was going to need rigor; it was going to need repeatability; it was going to need transference—so that other people could learn it. That was his complaint about the Paul Rands of the world: They just taught you how to be like Paul Rand.”
- John Cain, Doblin Employee, ID Alum, E-Lab Co-Founder
Developing design methodologies
Doblin was motivated to develop methodologies, repeatable processes by which designers could arrive at reliable outcomes.
Less intuition, more process
Doblin advocated vociferously for a less esoteric discipline, one less wedded to visionaries like Raymond Loewy, László Moholy-Nagy, and Ludwig Mies van Der Rohe.
Dependency Structure MatrixInstitute of Design (ID) at Illinois Tech
Demystifying design
Doblin’s democratic vision entailed demystifying the process.
Distilling principles
“Certainly [Doblin] got his greatest enjoyment trying to pioneer new understandings of the basics of design. What were the kinds of principles we could learn and impart to young people that are likely to be forever true?”
- Larry Keeley, Co-Founder, Doblin Inc.
Preference for Visual Activity MatrixInstitute of Design (ID) at Illinois Tech
Defining "good" design
Part and parcel with his quest to demystify design, Doblin spent a great deal of time identifying and articulating what he believed to be the properties of "good" design.
The 100 Best Designed Products (1959)Institute of Design (ID) at Illinois Tech
The 100 best designed products
In 1958, Doblin undertook a notable project for Fortune magazine. For more than a year, Doblin worked to determine the 100 best designed products. He asked 100 leading designers, architects, and teachers to select their top 10 best-designed objects.
The research was an early attempt to synthesize the elements of good design. He determined that all designs would be considered on the basis of three criteria: “the proportion of utility, social symbolism, and aesthetic considerations.”
100 Great Designs of Modern Times (2020)Institute of Design (ID) at Illinois Tech
The Fortune article was published in 1959 and republished as a book in 1970. Fifty years later, the Institute of Design and Fortune collaborated again to repeat Doblin’s effort while reflecting modern trends in design. The new work received a New York Press Club Award in 2021.
“Other fields have grown up and surely design will too. . . It seems to me time that design matures from a practice to a profession, beginning with properly structured problem-solving and research groups in universities at a graduate level.”
—Jay Doblin
Keep exploring Jay Doblin's impact on the Institute of Design in Part III.
