Page 106 - Design meets Business:An Ethnographic Study of the Changing Work and Occupations of Creatives

94 Design Meets Business
We invite researchers to further explore how changes in occupational membership influences the role of material practices in design, and how they respond to changes in their work. An option for future research is to conduct research in a design firm and follow responses to work changes for a longer period, and in particular observe whether the performance of material practices enhances, stabilizes or disappears.
In conclusion, while organizational research on design is growing (Stig- liani & Ravasi 2012; Fayard et al. 2017; Elsbach & Stigliani 2018), previous studies have provided rich accounts of how designers enact material prac- tices to trigger creative processes (Boland & Collopy 2004), transfer knowl- edge (Stigliani & Fayard 2010) and construct their identity (Michlewski 2016; Fayard et al. 2017). Also, researchers have acknowledged that in the case of designers, material practices and values are entwined (Fayard et al. 2017), and hence that designers might perform material practices as a matter of habit. Yet, so far, our knowledge about designers’ material prac- tices is limited to understanding these with an instrumental approach. Through an ethnography of designers who experience significant changes in their work, this study shows that designers can enact material practices also out of habit. For example, even though their work is becoming increas- ingly abstract and there is no direct need to make something tangible, the designers continue making artifacts as it helps them to perfect their craft and emotionally connect with what they do. In arguing this, our study develops a more integrative understanding of designers’ material prac- tices, and suggests that it is relevant to use craftsmanship as a lens to better understand designers and how people cope with changes at work.