Analysis of precedent designs: competitive analysis meets genre analysis

Designers need to survey the competition and analyze precedent designs, but methods for that purpose have not been evaluated in earlier research. This paper makes a comparative evaluation between competitive analysis and genre analysis. A randomized between-group experiment was conducted where graphic design students were conducted one of the two analysis methods. There were 13 students in one group and 16 in the other. The results show that genre analysis produced more detailed descriptions of precedent designs, but its process was more difficult to understand. It is concluded that genre analysis can be integrated into competitive analysis, to make use of the strengths of both methods in the analysis of precedents.

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