The Role of Narrative in Design Frames: Demystifying Framing in Design Research through Narratives in the Architectural Design Process

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. in Architecture, Faculty of Architectural Engineering and Urban Design, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Design, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

3 Professor, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Design, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background and Objectives: In response to criticisms of the rationalist approach to ill-structured problems, the design situation was viewed by some design researchers from a constructivist perspective, which led to the concept of framing and frame-making as one of the main activities in the design process. While there is a theoretical foundation for framing in design studies, its concrete understanding remains ambiguous. Meanwhile there is a history of using narratives and stories as a perspective for studying the design process in general. In these studies, narratives are tools that simultaneously guide the designer’s thinking and serve as reasoning devices that structure what should be done about the subject of the design. From this perspective, framing seems to be a context that allows different values to coexist in the design without being mutually exclusive, and in the form of co-construction of verbal stories in design. Thus, This research aims to examine the capacity of narrative in the concept of frames as representational constructs that embody designers’ situated knowledge and to find a model for demystifying them.
 
Materials and Methods: Employing a fundamental-theoretical research paradigm with a qualitative strategy, and based on library-based studies and logical reasoning on top of a general review of design research, the present paper examines the concept of framing from a constructivist perspective. It then attempts to provide a structure for using an often-underexplored capacity of narrative in this context.
 
Results and conclusion: The study demonstrates the significant potentials of the concept of design framing: a tangible, actionable narrative-based strategy in four interrelated activities. It starts with naming, which takes place in the form of interpreting the situation through constructing a story, followed by the creation of a frame as an inclusive narrative based on the superimposition of stories. The next step is to move towards frames, in the form of solution-oriented stories through the lens of these narrative frames. Finally, and continuously throughout the design process, there is a reflection on design that refines, removes, and adds stories. This process goes on until the inclusive narrative (the last frame) best manages the situation and complexities of the design.

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Main Subjects

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  • Receive Date: 10 May 2025
  • Revise Date: 24 June 2025
  • Accept Date: 13 September 2025

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