A CONCEPTUAL NETWORK APPROACH TO STRUCTURING OF MEANINGS IN DESIGN

This paper proposes the viewpoint of design as a process of ‘structuring of meanings’. This is a framework which is directly related to the synthesis of concepts and to creativity during the early stages of design. In the presented approach three factors – Sum of Meanings, Relatedness by Path and Standard Deviation of Relatedness by Path – assessing meanings are established in connection with results of design. Furthermore, those assumptions are tested in a case study, resulting in a model of the influence of the proposed factors assessing meanings on the evaluation of design. The validity of this model supports the proposed framework. This understanding of the structuring process of meanings and the utilization of the proposed descriptive factors are important considerations towards further support of conceptual design.

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