The relevance of the study is due to the inevitable obsolescence of fixed concepts and categories of design theory that make up the theoretical foundation of the master's course “History and Methodology of Design”, which is associated with the closeness of the resulting categorical-conceptual systems.
The aim of the study is to create a dynamic structure of concepts and design categories that form the categorical-conceptual apparatus of the course.
As a methodological basis of the study, a cultural approach is used that allows one to "practically implement a systematic view" on a design that is in the process of constant development and updating. In the course of work, the following research methods are used: problem statement, definition and systematization of concepts and categories, comparative method, historical and cultural analysis.
As a result of the study, the authors of the article propose to consider the system of concepts and categories of the course in the form of a “network” formed around the concept of “design culture”, the content of which is revealed using the category of “proektnost”. The proposed structure allows us to preserve the fundamental plurality of interpretations of the concept of design and justify the methodological pluralism of design practice.