Circulation: A Theoretical Toolkit

This paper introduces a framework for researchers involved in the analysis of design history and practice. We show how design can be understood as a circulation process, and how design elements can be understood as forms identified by design studies scholars, which can be followed as they circulate from one instance to another, being either created, conserved, or dissipated. Using the example of the evolution of the iPhone calculator, we illustrate how this framework facilitates a dynamic understanding of how design elements are transported and transformed when traveling through human and nonhuman entities