This paper address three questions: (1) What is the nature of design? (2) How do skilled designers function? and (3) Can a theory of design be constructed which will allow novice and expert instructional designers to perform their tasks more efficiently and effectively? It begins by presenting two general theories of design: Simon's conception of…

Describes results of a study of the work activities, priorities, and degree of satisfaction with the office environment of faculty at a California university. Implications for office design are discussed. (Author/WB)

A gestalt approach to theatrical design seems to provide some ready and stable explanations for a number of issues in the scenic arts. Gestalt serves as the theoretical base for a number of experiments in psychology whose findings appear to delineate the principles of art to be used in scene design. The fundamental notion of gestalt theory…

Examines the status of postoccupancy evaluation, which is the study of the effectiveness of designed environments for their human users. Issues addressed include generality, breadth of focus, applicability, sponsorship, methodology, and future directions. (WB)

The Golden Section as a concept and a term has had a long history in the arts as well as the sciences. It is one of those concepts that has undergone much recent research, which is presented as part of this review. The research is considered in relation to the design fields and to the creation of visual forms rather than aesthetic preference…

Three evaluations (general preference, balance, and dynamics) were made for paintings presented simultaneously in artist-created and mirror-image views. For short (5 second) exposures, results showed consistent selection over diverse contents of paintings with a left-to-right figure sequence. Implications for perception and aesthetics are…