From Affordances to Supernormal Collective vs Individual Authorship and Back

Abstract

The text examines the theoretical concepts of ‘Super Normal’ and ‘Affordance’, positioning them as methodological tools that enrich design-driven research. It challenges the excessive focus on innovation, advocating for a return to collective practices and the appreciation of 'ordinary' objects that embody cultural wisdom. Rooted in the works of designers Naoto Fukasawa and Jasper Morrison, as well as James J. Gibson's ecological psychology, the text explores how design influences and is influenced by human interaction, collective memory, and historical contexts. It challenges the notion of individual authorship, drawing on Barthes’ and Benjamin’s theories to propose a collaborative, non-authorial approach. The research project 'From Affordances to Super Normal and Back' implements these concepts through workshops, encouraging students to perceive design as a collective process. This methodology redefines the designer's fluid role within contemporary contexts, offering new perspectives on the process of meaning-making across design, architecture, and related disciplines.

Keywords: collective contributions, fluid authorship, ordinary