Design

This essay suggests ways in which the activities that are centrally involved in design processes—especially the design of innovative technologies and technological experiences—address and expand upon the range of literacies that are the foundation for knowledge creation in the 21st century. I begin by reviewing three dominant meanings of the term design (as a noun) as a prelude to setting forth the argument for a fourth sense of design as the means for the reproduction of (techno)culture. I then elucidate some of the key theoretical assertions about the work of design in a technological culture, thus setting the stage for a discussion of the more explicit connection between design (designing, and design thinking) and the kind of new literacies that should be considered as fundamental building blocks for learning in a digital age.