The Format of the Words for a Journey – Pattern Language
Pattern Language is an idea proposed by architect Christopher Alexander for scribing out people’s knowledge. Alexander found repeatedly seen relationships between objects in a beautiful towns and buildings, and decided to call them “patterns”. He suggested collecting these patterns into one collection so it would become a “language” to be shared among people, so that everyone can join in on the building process of houses and towns. This organized format of writing out the context, problem, and solution of practical knowledge is used in many fields – its largest being software design – to enhance the creativity of people.
Takashi Iba, associate professor at Keio University, is the pioneer in applying the method to creative human actions, and is now leading many studies and practice in and out of Japan. His works include the Learning Patterns, a pattern language for creative learning, the Presentation Patterns, a pattern language for giving creative presentations, the Collaboration Patterns, a pattern language for creative collaborations, the Generative Beauty Patterns, a pattern language for living beautifully and lively, and the Survival Language, a pattern language for preparing for and surviving large earthquakes. The Presentation Patterns has also an extended version published, which the book was nominated the Good Design Award in 2013.
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