The Practice of Disegno
An Introduction to the Methodological Process with a Focus on its Social and Political Implications
The practice of Disegno is based on the analysis of three fundamental phenomena: movement, coordinates, and chance operations (or operations of possibility).
The term practice refers to the active shaping of both physical and intellectual reality. Reality here is understood as that which mutually exerts influence and is influenced.
Disegno signifies the analytical examination of what is observed, its decomposition, the creation of a design (using the disassembled elements), and the realization of that design.
What is examined and deconstructed can be either naturally or culturally given. The aim of the design is the preservation of the physical and intellectual reality. It is not about creating something entirely new but rather about optimizing the existing to bring it into a stable state of sustainability.
What appears new only does so insofar as it achieves a new level of optimization.
The practice of Disegno is foundational to the self-understanding of the Renaissance. Beginning with the human scale, analytical and design principles were formulated—principles applicable to the arts, mathematics, architecture, literature, philosophy, and the emerging natural sciences.
"Disegno, which in other words can be called ‘design,’ is the source and essence of painting, sculpture, architecture, and every other form of representation. It is the foundation of all science. Whoever masters this great art should recognize that they command an incomparable power. With nothing more than pen and parchment, they can create things greater than all the towers of the world."
– Michelangelo Buonarroti, Four Conversations on Painting, Held in Rome, 1538
Those engaged in this practice are inherently interconnected through the fundamental principles of Disegno. In this sense, artists, mathematicians, writers, philosophers, and emerging scientists form interdisciplinary cells that commit themselves to optimization (and thus preservation).
First Phase
We distinguish three phases of Disegno. During the first phase, spanning from the late 15th to the end of the 16th century, Disegno evolved into an independent, interdisciplinary category. In this period, Disegno was understood as a practice grounded in the principles (or ideas) of God, intended to complete or optimize divine work in accordance with human needs.
Under the premise of optimization—which assumes as comprehensive knowledge as possible of its subject matter—we see the principles of Disegno as remaining valid into the Enlightenment. Even though principles and practice became methodologically differentiated during this era, they remained tied to the ideal of optimization.
The principles deemed divine were secularized, and in practice, a separation occurred: the arts aimed at intellectual and moral optimization (i.e., education), while design focused on the practical realization of each respective optimum. The birth of what we today call communication design is directly linked to the emergence of Diderot's Encyclopédie (published between 1751 and 1765).
Key observation: the principles and practices of Disegno detached themselves from a world determined by divine providence. Initially, human understanding could grasp divine providence through the analysis of its metrically determinable coordinates, allowing the predictable to be addressed in art and science, the positive aspects to be actively promoted, and the negative aspects to be defensively countered. As scientific methods continued to develop, the "divine" attribute of providence was eventually discarded. The ability to make predictions within causal chains increasingly and ultimately exclusively fell within the domain of the sciences.
From an art-historical perspective, Disegno remains confined to the period between the mid-15th and late-16th centuries.
From the perspective of artistic, poetic, and philosophical practice, however, a different picture emerges: the phenomena underpinning the design principles of Disegno—movement, coordinates, and operations of possibility—have, on the one hand, emancipated themselves from the demand for optimization in the 20th century, while on the other hand assigning formal structure to function to such an extent (e.g., "form follows function") that they have become fundamental tenets of modernity.
Second Phase
What we define as the second phase lies within the tension between form-finding entirely oriented toward function and a movement freed from all optimization, seeking to determine form solely from its aesthetically unfolding everydayness.
This mutually enriching tension—art-historically traceable between the Black Mountain College (not least through its reference to Bauhaus paradigms) and the New York School of Poets and Artists—becomes evident from the mid-20th century onward.
The transition from the first to the second phase of what we consider the foundation of design in the sense of Disegno—that is, the drafting and execution work based on the analysis of movement, coordinates, and operations of possibility—is examined in detail in our lectures on art and design history.
Third Phase
The third phase defies both art-historical and institutional categorization in terms of specific artists or schools. Movement, coordinates, and operations of possibility—the foundational elements of Disegno—have undergone fundamental redefinitions in the first quarter of the 21st century.
Movement remains bound to physical reality (no other form of movement exists unless we consider the simulacrum of movement as physically real in a bodily sense). In quantum physics, movement is described as existence itself, without requiring elements to move.
Coordinates, however, have almost entirely lost their physical starting point. Spatial-temporal determination—such as marking boundaries with physical landmarks—has been largely replaced by digital processes. The same applies to operations of possibility. Through high-dimensional vectors in latent space (the operational field of artificial intelligence), an infinite number of possibilities can be generated.
This creates challenges in constraining probabilities related to real enactment (i.e., actual movements). The issues facing our tangible, physical world, which is largely governed by digitally coded operations of possibility, can no longer be comprehended, analyzed, or solved with traditional means.
The pressing question is not whether to use more or less digital technology, but rather: what is our reference point? As long as this reference lies in any kind of idea (e.g., solving a social, cultural, ecological, economic, biological, or technological problem), it inevitably relies on a set of tools determined by digital frameworks. It is now difficult to envision how we could avoid such digital determinism in implementation, and one might question why we would need to.
Equally challenging, but essential (at least from the perspective of Disegno), is a paradigm shift in reference: from the idea of a solution to relinquishing any idea in favor of factual solutions—that is, to an enactment that surrenders to the existing physical realities, which inevitably also include psychological and culturally conditioned circumstances.
This means that the starting point for creative action (and thus also for political and cultural activity) is not the desire to realize an idea (in the worst case, an ideology), but rather the analysis of the factual relationships and the mutual references (between person and person, person and nature, person and technology) that, in the practice of Disegno, are always captured as specific manifestations of movement (in both the physical and neurophysiological senses).
The question is how a shared existence manifests itself in factual terms, which we, building on the existing possibilities of physical and neurophysiological movement, enact (or negate). These refer specifically to movements we perform involuntarily (breathing, heartbeat, digestion, etc.), movements we perform voluntarily (to fulfill an intention), and movements that act upon us, either amplifying or hindering our voluntary and involuntary movements.
The factual expressions of a shared existence aimed at the preservation of movement possibilities unfold in all forms of language that neither signify nor describe, but rather manifest descriptive meaning (as the narration of the realization of possibilities or their negation) in coded form as potential. Music most vividly demonstrates how the manifestation of potential occurs—manifested in the way a piece of music is written (i.e., encoded) through the grammatical system of notation and realized in its potential by setting sound bodies into motion. The same applies to the language of painting, literature, cinema, etc.—in short, to all poetic forms of expression.
One could argue that these forms of expression (of shared existence) certainly apply to the cultural achievements of a state community but are of limited relevance to social or political matters.
We counter this by asserting that the narrative of the realization (or suppression) of individual and collective movement possibilities—what we recognize here as having political implications—is fundamentally societal in nature. Equally fundamental is the notion that every political program essentially draws on the religious promise of ensuring the preservation of a community or people’s movement possibilities, fostering their development, and enhancing them with all available means to such a degree that an optimum—imagined as eternal peace, boundless prosperity, secured health, or something similar—is achieved. Simply put: every ideology generates itself as the guarantor of a "success story."
Communities that, in this sense, base themselves on the imagination of a final success for their proclaimed ideology cannot, by definition, be anything other than autocratic or oligarchically governed—that is, ruled.
In contrast, the expressions that explore the movement possibilities of the individual within a shared existence are not "success stories." Through mutual reference, these expressions create a diverse texture in which the tension between unfolding and inhibition (of potential) is encoded in narration, thereby realized both in its enactment and in the remaining potential as such.
In the movement (i.e., rhythm) of narration—drawing on the number of heartbeats, breathing frequencies, peristalsis, contractions, and expansions of limbs—the possibilities are realized through operations executed within a coordinate system, point by point.
As long as these operations emerge from the sequences of physical movement, it does not matter whether the coordinates that form the basis of each operation are derived analogously (through manual and intellectual activity) or digitally (via artificial intelligence). The same applies to the implementation of the ideational or material formulation in a medial or physical space. What is crucial for understanding is that the coordinates determined by analyzing movement are universally understood as both the coordinates of the body’s structure and the basis for neurophysiological functions—that is, the transmission of stimuli or impulses via nerve or muscle cells.
Let us briefly consider the impulses triggered in us by affects. Fundamentally, we can distinguish between physical impulses (something that touches us, that we perceive through our sense of touch, smell, or taste) and medial impulses (something we see or hear). This describes the neurophysiological apparatus with which we perceive the surrounding world. For the body’s reaction to impulses, it makes no difference whether they originate from physical or medial stimulus sequences. We respond with an increased or slowed heartbeat, faster or slower breathing, physically and mentally recoiling, or approaching the stimulus. Fundamentally, it is about avoiding negative stimuli and repeating positive ones.
The poetic (as the result of the analytical and creative work of Disegno) thus unfolds its effect where it directly influences the movement sequences that constitute shared existence. This involves more than habitual rituals, which are deconstructed and recoded—an essential aspect of developing mutual identities. It also involves influences on the biophysical, biochemical, and inorganic construction of reality (always from a human perspective), at least on the level of quantum physical insight, which suggests that the perspective of observation—thus the stimulus that provokes an intellectually described experience through biochemical means—is inseparable from the result of the observation, i.e., the perspective and setting of the observation itself.
Even if it eludes ordinary understanding: the perspective of observation constitutes the reality of what is observed on both physical and medial levels.
How, Then, Can Shared Existence Be Understood as Shaped by the Power of the Poetic?
In simplified terms, we can say that cultural development (including religion, science, and politics) primarily serves to predict negative sequences and take appropriate measures to prevent them, while also producing positive sequences that we collectively describe as cultural progress. From the idea of paradise in heaven to the aspiration of creating paradise on earth.
When the poetic is misused to illustrate the promise of paradisiacal conditions (whether in heaven or on earth, in a small private paradise, or an all-encompassing collective one), it loses its intrinsic power. It then merely functions as a reference to future salvation and becomes an aestheticized manual depicting how one must act to partake in future bliss.
This brings us back to the paradigm shift regarding the reference for our creative action in the sense of Disegno.
If, at the end of history, there is no longer an expectation of an earthly or heavenly paradise, what can serve as the reference? What motivates action if the course of linear time points to nothingness? How can we distinguish right action from wrong when the complexity of data analysis has grown so immense that valid predictions can no longer be made? How must we act to preserve and expand the possibilities for movement?
The honest answer is this: we cannot. We do not know. No idea, no ideology, not even a political program can truly claim to offer us a better future. Desperately, we try to preserve the status quo—the wealth, freedom, and peace we value, as political mantras often express it. Yet, whether we will succeed is anything but assured.
As unsatisfying, even painful, as it may sound: our not-knowing is the only valid reference.
Our actions are rooted in our inability. To remain capable of action, it is necessary to accept our ignorance of the future and, with it, our inability to shape it according to our ideals.
So, what remains as a reference and motivation for our actions?
First, let us clarify: it is not about negating the future, dismissing it as irrelevant, or concluding that humanity has reached its end and no longer has a future. We do not know this. It is about accepting our lack of knowledge about the future as a given—a truth that has always been valid but which we were able to overlook for as long as our predictions appeared to hold validity. The illusion of being able to foresee the future and derive measures for a better tomorrow from analyzing why certain events occurred as they did is irrevocably lost.
Let us state this clearly: we cannot make valid statements about what the future holds or why the present, as the completed future, has taken the shape it has. We have lost the answers to the questions of what and why.
What remains within our control is the instrument of the how.
In asking how—that is, how we shape the universally valid reference of shared existence—we unwittingly compile the future from the sequences of movements unfolding in the present.
This how emerges as the essential task in the practical application of Disegno.
The Question of Practice
The question of practice focuses on the how, particularly in terms of social, cultural, and political efficacy.
For this, the reference of shared existence applies concretely in relation to Article 1 of the German Constitution:
(1) „Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority."
(2) „The German people therefore acknowledge inviolable and inalienable human rights as the basis of every community, of peace, and of justice in the world."
The principles on which the practice of Disegno is based can be systematically summarized as follows:
Movement
of that which moves of itself (the cause in itself).
of the apparatus (the result), meaning both autonomously moving entities and collectives forming moving groups
The movement:
of limbs leaving traces
of vocal chords producing sounds
the contractions and expansions of the internal and external organs that support the whole apparatus
of the respiratory and cardiac muscles
of digestion
of the uterus
and so on
Coordinates
The intersections resulting from movement lines
The interaction of these intersections, which gives rise to time, through which duration is determined
The apparatus/objects:
their intersections or coordinates can be:
counted
isolated
measured for distance
compared in relation to one another
their proportions (of the apparatus/objects) determined
Thus, from the coordinates of movement that solidify or temporarily stabilize within a coordinate system (whose thermodynamic decay synthesizes linear time from persistence and dissolution), the formatting of the apparatus/objects arises. Within these, the coordinates are preserved as anchor points of the original movement, now required for preservation.
Chance Operations
The arrangement of coordinates temporarily remaining in their (randomly) assumed positions.
Existing as patterns, i.e., potentially infinitely repeated distributions of the same arrangement in all available dimensions.
Existing as structures, i.e., expressed according to identical patterns at the programmatic level but differing by category (of apparatus/objects).
This means: the operations of possibility (or chance operations) should be understood as a (random) playing through of all possible options (by "remaining in motion") to achieve a state of stability for the apparatus/object. We identify this state as valid for preservation through proportional values we can immediately perceive neurophysiologically as corresponding to our own apparatus.
Evolutionarily speaking, the potential options cannot be thought of as a progression toward a specific goal (this would only be possible if time were an independent variable, which it is not, as it is tied to the temporally limited persistence of the apparatus/object). Instead, they must be understood as a simultaneous playing through of parallel possibilities.
The Practice of the Political
Here, we return to the concept of "dignity," which must be upheld as the inviolable intrinsic value of the individual in its relation to being an apparatus or object, as mandated by the German Constitution.
This highlights how the principles underlying the practice of Disegno inherently raise questions about political practice:
What does participation in intrinsic value mean in a social, cultural, or political sense when this value—bound to the condition of being an apparatus or object—seems to hold only temporary validity?
Does intrinsic value persist beyond the limitation of life?
Or must we consider intrinsic value as subordinate to the condition of being an apparatus or object?
What does intrinsic value mean in relation to another individual when, for any apparatus or object, it is already determined through operations of possibility, provided a minimum existence (i.e., no immediate dissolution) is assumed?
Does this not imply that every individual is interchangeable and every action indifferent?
The task of Disegno today—of designers in the 21st century—lies in coding participation in shared existence (through choreography and enactment of movement, analysis and determination of coordinates, and the playing through of operations of possibility).
In relation to the objects and processes securing shared existence (including every apparatus and object), this means that designers working with the methods of Disegno provide the respective groups with creative tools that enable them to actively participate in preserving and developing existence. This includes the preservation of natural conditions, the production of artifacts, and the social, cultural, and thus political processes that allow us to live with dignity.
Core Areas of Participation in Shared Existence
Participation in the production and organization of the conditions that ensure preservation.
Participation in the question of the value and meaning of preservation in light of the unavoidable dissolution of all that exists.
Participation in the communication of our common existence. We do this by unfolding our individual possibilities of movement, which consists in encoding the rhythm of participation according to our individual abilities - specifically through a telling that focuses on the enactment of participation.
From this, it follows that the production and organization of existence, as well as our questioning of its value and meaning, find their fulfillment in the coding (the narration) of the living rhythm. Through this rhythm, communication and shared existence emerge as the inherent plurality of life.
Methodological Process
To begin, let us clarify: this is not about using creative methods to implement a plan or solution that has already been determined. We do not know what the solution will look like. What must be done and why depends on the question of how.
The what is always fundamentally answered: participation in community.
The why is likewise clear: to unfold individual movement possibilities and ensure shared existence.
The how primarily asks how the respective problem concerning the community can be solved by activating creative collaboration.
The process is structured as follows:
Formulation of the question.
Objectification of the question.
Analysis of object coordinates.
Decomposition or deconstruction of the object according to the determined coordinates.
Use of the elements derived from decomposition to create a formal vocabulary.
Composition—reassembling the elements (the vocabulary) into a physical, medial, or performative product.
Using the product as a contribution to ensuring the existence of the affected community.
Communicating participation in the creative process (from the question to the implementation of the product) as a constitutive part of shared existence.
Final Remarks
The paradigm shift in design—away from consumerism and toward an orientation centered on the social and cultural needs of individuals, and thus democracy—is neither complete nor universally accepted across all areas of design. The same applies to the reactivation of Disegno, which accompanies this shift.
This practice differs fundamentally from previous approaches. In particular, the inclusion of affected groups in the creative process is novel, unfamiliar, and correspondingly controversial.
Both the shift in orientation and the introduction of an appropriate methodology, as represented by the reactivation of Disegno, require dedicated academic programs and gradual implementation in design practice.
The Practice of Disegno applies to:
Design in cultural communication
Design in political communication
Design in education
Design in economics and ecology
Design in scientific communication
Design in interreligious dialogue—among others
The practical projects, which form the core of the program at the Academy of Visual Arts, Frankfurt, are carried out exclusively with cooperation partners who can be directly or indirectly assigned to the "affected groups". They thus pursue a double goal: on the one hand, to teach students the methodological process on the basis of concrete problems, and on the other hand, to solve concrete problems in cooperation between students and "affected groups" in the form of Cooperative Design.
Practice of Disegno / Methodical Procedure
1. Objectification of the core question by choosing an object, i.e.,
a specific item
a sequence (a limited series of events)
a structure or pattern
where each chosen object exhibits formal relationships with the other two
2. Deconstruction through the analysis of the object and its relations in terms of
motion
coordinates
operations of possibility
in terms of their potential for
repetition
differentiation
variation
of the elements isolated during the analysis by deconstruction (i.e., disassembly)
3. Formalizing by arranging elements (subsets) according to aesthetic criteria, elements that have comparable characteristics in terms of their
organic form
geometric form
simplicity
complexity, etc.
that includes:
Formation of Compositional Subsets
Construct subsets suitable for composition, akin to creating vocabularies, where each subset consists of elements belonging to a particular order
Cataloging the Subsets
Elements
Forms (vocabularies)
Motion guidelines
4. Composition of the cataloged elements or subsets
Explore all the possibilities offered by formalization in the context of the question posed as a starting point.
The process is carried out using all the means and media appropriate to answering the question:
Graphic Design
Textile and Fashion Design
Photography
Film
Music
Performance
Dance etc.
5. Production according to the results of the compositions
Media outcomes (analog, digital, two- or three-dimensional, etc.) achieved through an individual or team design process. In this process, the subsets (elements, forms, motion guidelines) are used directly to produce design results
Guidelines for action or scores (similar to a musical performance based on notations or the choreographed performance of a dance)
for Collaborative Design: This involves a designer working with members of the specific community to address an inherent problem or question that requires a new objectification to find a solution
6. Communication
of the whole process
of the results (if necessary, by using the results for communicative purposes)
of the cooperation (designer and affected group)