TY - JOUR AU - Henderson,, Kathryn AB - Abstract This study focuses on the political career of the drawing/prototype pair, a linked series of visually oriented sets, that resides in the borderland between research/development and production in industrial design engineering. In this frontier space both consensus and conflict occur between groups and between individuals. Attention to the metamorphosis of design through interactions centered around the interlinked drawing/prototype pair reveals the social construction of a piece of technology and the group process of the emerging design. Moreover, this examination reveals the strength of visual representations as actants in the design process. Whether three-dimensional plastic prototypes or two-dimensional drawings on paper, visual representations play a crucial role in interactions that organize work, organize knowledge, and recruit and organize resources, political support, and power. This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes * " I want to thank the engineers, designers, and others who so generously gave me their time and cooperation during this study, especially members of the “Optimed” design team. © 1995 Society for the Study of Social Problems, Inc. TI - The Political Career of a Prototype: Visual Representation in Design Engineering JF - Social Problems DO - 10.2307/3096905 DA - 1995-05-01 UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/the-political-career-of-a-prototype-visual-representation-in-design-tiAjMpH6Hi SP - 274 VL - 42 IS - 2 DP - DeepDyve ER -