(x)

Lexicon

Breathing Space
noun

Etymology:
Breathing: From Old English brēathing, linked to brēathan (“to breathe”), Germanic root.

Space: From Latin spatium (“room, extent, distance”), via Old French espace.

Recognised Definition:
A short rest from something difficult or unpleasant.

Expanded:
A consciously created pause within design processes that allows propositions to be adapted, reconsidered, and made contextually resonant. It prioritises responsiveness over urgency and recognises that depth requires room.

Aligned principles:
– Course and Effect

Canon
noun

/ˈkanən/

Etymology:
From Greek kanōn (“rule, measuring stick”), via Latin canon and Old French canon, denoting a standard or rule for judgment or law.

Recognised Definition::
A general law, rule, principle, or criterion by which something is judged.

Expanded:

In design, canon refers to a body of work, practice, or thought that is deemed significant. This term invites interrogation: Who decides what’s included? What histories are excluded?

Canons should be plural, provisional, and inclusive of the Global Majority.
Aligned principles:
– Acknowledgement or Furtherance

Commons
noun

Etymology:
From Latin communis (“common, shared”), via Old French comun. Commons evolved to refer to collectively used resources or land.

 Recognised Definition:
Land or resources belonging to or affecting the whole of a community.

Expanded:
A shared space or resource co-managed through mutual care. Commons in design invite participatory stewardship, resisting enclosure and encouraging plural ways of shaping, maintaining, and valuing a resource or space.

– Acknowledgement or Furtherance

Continuinty
noun

/ˌkɒntɪˈnjuːɪti/

Etymology:
From Latin continuus (“unbroken”), from continere (“to hold together”) con- (“together”) + tenere (“to hold”).

Recognised Definition:

The unbroken and consistent existence or operation of something over time.

Expanded:
Continuity values extended care beyond the scope of a project. It ensures that design propositions are not transient interventions, but integrated gestures embedded in systems of long-term meaning and maintenance.

Aligned principles:
– Acknowledgement or Furtherance
- Joint Wisdom and Custodianship

Custodianship
noun

/ˌkʌstəˈdeɪnʃɪp/

Etymology:
Custodian: From Latin custodia (“guarding”) ← custos (“guardian”).

-ship: Old English suffix denoting condition, rank, or skill (e.g., leadership, friendship).

Recognised Definition:
The protective care or guardianship of something.

Expanded:
More than protection—custodianship is a practice of care, patience, and responsibility. Designers act as stewards, not owners, facilitating the path for a proposition to fulfil its purpose and return to the collective domain.

Aligned principles:
– Joint Wisdom and Custodianship

Cyclical Process
noun

/ˈsɪklɪk(ə)l ˈprəʊsɛs/

Etymology:
Cyclical: From Greek kyklos (“circle”), via Latin cyclus + suffix -al.

Process: Latin processus (“a going forward”), from procedere (“to advance”).

Recognised Definition:
A process that repeats in cycles, involving the same steps or stages.

Expanded:
A way of working that resists linearity, allowing for return, revision, and growth. It values deepening over completion and recognises the necessity of non-finality in long-term design.

Aligned principles:
– Course and Effect

Duration
noun

/djʊəˈreɪʃ(ə)n/

Etymology:
From Latin duratio (“a lasting”), from durare (“to last, endure”).

Recognised Definition:
The time during which something continues.

Expanded:
Acknowledging that some ideas require seasons to develop. Duration focuses on the long-term evolution of a proposition—designing not only for now but with time, rather than against it.

Aligned principles:
– Course and Effect

Ecology
noun

/ɪˈkɒlədʒi/

Etymology:
From Greek oikos (“house, dwelling”) + -logia (“study of”), coined as Ökologie in German in the 19th century.

Recognised Definition:
The relations of organisms to one another and to their surroundings.

Expanded:
A term that invites a systems-based awareness. Ecologies of design include people, materials, time, affect, and environment: Holding space for complexity, symbiosis, and care.

Aligned principles:
– Multi-Sensory Materialism

Embodiment
noun

/ɪmˈbɒdɪm(ə)nt/

Etymology:
Embody: em- (from Latin in- “into”) + body (Old English bodig).

Body: Possibly Proto-Germanic buduga- (“trunk, torso”).

Recognised Definition:
A tangible or visible form of an idea, quality, or feeling.

Expanded:
Design is often made real through living: in movement, sensation, and encounter. Embodiment reminds us that knowledge and meaning arise through how things are felt and enacted, not just spoken or seen.

Aligned principles:
– Multi-Sensory Materialism

Framerwork
noun

/ˈfreɪmwəːk/

Etymology:
Frame: Old English framian (“to be useful”), from fram (“forward”).

Work: Old English weorc, Proto-Germanic werkan (“to do”).

Recognised Definition:
A basic structure underlying a system or concept.

Expanded:
An adaptable guide for thinking and doing. Frameworks support without constraining, helping to hold complexity in coherent form. One’s principles function as a living framework; anchored but flexible.

Aligned principles:
– Acknowledgement or Furtherance
- Course and Effect
– Multi-Sensory Materialism
– Joint Wisdom and Custodianship

Future Heritages
noun

/ˈfjuː.tʃə ˈhɛ.rɪ.tɪ.dʒɪz/

Etymology:
Coined with another, inspired by the recognition that ‘today’s bold moves are tomorrow’s beloved traditions’

Recognised Definition:
-

Expanded:
Designs made today become the foundations for tomorrow’s traditions.
This term honours long-term contribution, where present action becomes legacy. It prompts responsibility, creativity, and humility in the face of time.

Aligned principles:
– Acknowledgement or Furtherance
- Course and Effect
– Joint Wisdom and Custodianship

Immanence
noun

/ˈɪmənəns/

Etymology:
From Latin immanere (“to dwell in”), from in- (“in”) + manere (“to remain”).

Recognised Definition:
The state of being inherent or existing within something.

Expanded:
The opposite of distance. Immanence reminds us that value often resides within: The material, the process, the moment. It challenges design to work with what is already present, rather than impose from without.

Aligned principles:
- Course and Effect
– Multi-Sensory Materialism

Inclusive Imaginaries
noun

/ɪnˈkluː.sɪv ɪˈmæ.dʒɪ.nə.riz/

Etymology:
Coined, with another

Recognised Definition:
-
Expanded:
Imaginaries that extend beyond dominant cultural, sensory, or epistemic frameworks. They accommodate multiple ways of seeing, being, and relating; building space for wider participation in collective visioning.

Aligned principles:
- Acknowledgement or Furtherance
– Multi-Sensory Materialism

Index
noun

/ˈɪndɛks/

Etymology:
From Latin index (“pointer, sign, list”), from indicare (“to point out”).

Recognised Definition:
An alphabetical list of names, subjects, etc., with references to the places where they occur.

Expanded:
In design, indices can be taxonomic, conceptual, or visual. They allow relationships across bodies of knowledge to become visible and navigable, and are a tool for tracing intentionality.

Aligned principles:
– Acknowledgement or Furtherance
- Course and Effect
– Multi-Sensory Materialism
– Joint Wisdom and Custodianship

Infrastructure
noun

/ˈɪnfrəstrʌktʃə/

Etymology:
From French infrastructure (early 20th century), from Latin infra- (“below”) + structure.

Recognised Definition:
The basic systems and services necessary for function.

Expanded:
Not limited to utilities; design infrastructure includes the social, ecological, and institutional conditions that support ongoing work. It asks us to build not only outputs, but the scaffolds that sustain custodianship.

Aligned principles:
– Acknowledgement or Furtherance
- Course and Effect
– Joint Wisdom and Custodianship

Iteration
noun

/ˌɪtəˈreɪʃ(ə)n/

Etymology:
From Latin iteratio (“a repeating”), from iterare (“to repeat”), from iterum (“again”).

Recognised Definition:
The repetition of a process, typically to achieve refinement.

Expanded:
Iteration is responsive repetition. It allows each version to listen to context, gather feedback, and grow. Essential to regenerative practice, it values learning through cultivation.

Aligned principles:
– Course and Effect

Material
noun

/məˈtɪərɪəl/

Etymology:
From Latin iteratio (“a repeating”), from iterare (“to repeat”), from iterum (“again”).

Recognised Definition:
The matter from which something is made.

Expanded:

Materials go beyond the tactile. They include memory, gesture, sound, atmosphere etc. Material is any component with which we shape and are shaped: whether physical, digital, affective, or temporal.

Aligned principles:
– Multi-Sensory Materialism
– Course and Effect

Explored in Material Selvedges in collaboration with 16/16

Matrix
noun

/ˈmeɪtrɪks/

Etymology:
From Latin matrix (“womb, source”), from mater (“mother”), used metaphorically for something that gives origin.

Recognised Definition:
An environment in which something develops; a grid of values or data.

Expanded:
In one’s practice, matrix describes a multi-dimensional field of relationships—a way to trace influence, scale, and interconnection. It supports complex mapping across practice, place, and meaning.

Aligned principles:
– Course and Effect

Pace
noun

/peɪs/

Etymology:
From Latin passus (“a step”), related to the act of stepping or walking. Adopted via French and Italian.

Recognised Definition:
The speed at which something moves or happens.

Expanded:
Pace is a design condition.
It affects not only how fast we make, but how well we listen; meaning that process governs pace and not the other way round.

Aligned principles:
– Course and Effect

Proposition
noun

/ˌprɒpəˈzɪʃ(ə)n/

Etymology:
From Latin propositio (“a setting forth”), from proponere (“to put forth”), from pro- (“forth”) + ponere (“to place”).

Recognised Definition:
A statement or assertion expressing a judgement or opinion.

Expanded:
A proposition is an offering: A suggestion for the world. It may be a product, method, or approach, rooted in purpose and collective relevance. It is not fixed, but co-shaped by context and collaboration.

Aligned principles:
– Course and Effect
– Joint Wisdom and Custodianship

Refusal
noun

/rɪˈfjuːz(ə)l/

Etymology:
From Old French refus, Latin refusare (“to reject”), frequentative of refutare (“to push back, refute”).

Recognised Definition:
An act of declining to accept, comply with, or engage in something.

Expanded:
Design refusal is not absence—it is presence with boundaries. It protects space for ethics, alternative temporalities, and non-participation in harmful systems.

Aligned principles:
– Acknowledgement or Furtherance
– Joint Wisdom and Custodianship

Scaffolding
noun

/ˈskafəldɪŋ/

Etymology:
Scaffold: Old French eschafault, from Frankish skafald (“structure of poles”), from skaf (“shaft”).

Recognised Definition:
A temporary structure for support during construction or repair.

Expanded:

In process-led design, scaffolding holds early stages with care. It allows for flexibility, adapts as the work evolves, and is designed to disappear when no longer needed.

Aligned principles:
– Course and Effect
– Joint Wisdom and Custodianship