Reflections on the potential of risk in the design Process

The concept 'risk' carries great theoretical potential for a better comprehension of the design process. The purpose of this paper is to identify and think about risk in the design process as it has been treated by authors of the area. In the same way, it tries to investigate how other areas of knowledge approach the theme. The exploratory nature of this research seeks to make explicit risk in design as a symbolic weft woven throughout the process, which stimulates the raising of new questions and expands the possibilities of project choice. Although risk related to design outcomes should generally be minimised, risk understood during the design process as 'taking risks', as opposed to 'playing it safe', is important for projects with goals that involve changing the status quo.