Definition
Broadly defined, documentation is a concept which describes the record of a process or object. When thinking about online spaces for the presentation of design work this can take on two more precise definitions:
- In computer science, the term 'documentation' is frequently used to refer to sets of instructions or descriptions which define a piece of software or a programming language (and which may also teach a person how to use it).
- In design practice, 'documentation' is often used to describe resources, records or references (such as those in an archive) that can describe or display a piece of work whether that is a scan, photograph, written description, etc.
This second definition is particularly important when developing online spaces for the presentation of design work (such as a degree show or showcase), since most of the work presented online is only accessible via documentation and not 'directly' (as might be the case in a physical show). Unless the work is designed to be presented in a web-browser (such as GIF), it is unlikely that the work shown will not require some kind of mediation via some kind of documentation strategy.
The 'computer-science' definition is similarly important however, as it will be necessary to produce documentation of how people can practically upload or 'share' their work on a given platform (i.e. the documentation of documetation). This also has implications for the concept of Governance.