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Creative patterns and stimulation in conceptual design

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2010

Yan Jin  and
Oren Benami
Yan Jin
Affiliation:
Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
Oren Benami
Affiliation:
Space and Airborne Systems, Raytheon Company, El Segundo, California, USA
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Abstract

Conceptual design is a creative process. Designers create functions to satisfy customer needs and behaviors and forms to fulfill their functions. Although cognitive processes are at the center in developing new ideas, they are rarely taken into account in research and development of design support methods and systems. It is conceivable that if one understands how cognitive processes are stimulated to generate design ideas, then more effective methods and tools can be developed to support conceptual design. In this article, a cognitive model of conceptual design is developed to capture the relationships among design entities, design operations, and cognitive processes. A protocol analysis is performed to evaluate the model, and a cognitive experiment carried out to study the creative patterns and stimulating relationships. The results show that designers exhibit patterns of creative design behavior, and that these patterns can be captured and instilled into the design process to promote creativity.

Keywords

AnalogyCognitive ModelCognitive ProcessConceptual DesignProtocol AnalysisStimulation

Information

Type
Special Issue Articles
Information
AI EDAM , Volume 24 , Issue 2: Creativity: Simulation, Stimulation, and Studies , May 2010 , pp. 191 - 209
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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