The concept of design paradigms derives from the rather ambiguous idea of paradigm originating in the sociology of science, which carries at least two main meanings:

• As models, archetypes, or quintessential examples of solutions to problems. A 'paradigmatic design' in this sense, refers to a design solution that is considered by a community as being successful and influential. Usually success is associated to market share or some other measure of popularity, but this need not be the case. For instance, the eMate and other Apple Newton devices can be considered as paradigmatic because of their influence in subsequent designs, despite their commercial failure.
• As sociological paradigms, a design paradigm is the constellation of beliefs, rules, knowledge, etc. that is valid for a particular design community. Here a paradigm is not a particular solution, but rather the underlying system of ideas that causes a range of solutions to be 'normal' or 'obvious'. A current example is the laptop: as of 2010 the design paradigm of laptops includes a portable computer unit consisting of a QWERTY keyboard, a hinged screen, etc. Moreover, such device is assumed to be helpful in tasks such as education as in the One Laptop per Child project.