How sketching can affect the idea generation process in design group meetings

This study consists of four experimental idea generation meetings, which explore whether functions of sketching in design activity are also valid for idea generation meetings. The relevant functions of sketching found in theory are: 1) supporting a re-interpretive cycle in the individual thinking process, 2) supporting re-interpretation of each other's ideas in group activity, and 3) enhancing access to earlier ideas. To examine these three possible functions of sketching activity in a group, a model is introduced that considers sketching activities as interactions with the group's external memory. In each meeting both a technique that includes sketching and a technique that includes writing as the primary mode of communication was applied. Differences in the participants' linking behavior for these two techniques were compared. The results provide some support for the first and the third functions of sketching. No support was found for the second function.

[1]  Eugene S. Ferguson,et al.  Engineering and the Mind's Eye , 1994 .

[2]  Nigel Cross,et al.  Analysing design activity , 1996 .

[3]  Arthur B. VanGundy,et al.  Techniques of structured problem solving , 1981 .

[4]  Laurent Karsenty,et al.  Cooperative Work and Shared Visual Context: An Empirical Study of Comprehension Problems in Side-by-Side and Remote Help Dialogues , 1999, Hum. Comput. Interact..

[5]  L. Allbon,et al.  Creative Problem Solving , 1968, Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapie.

[6]  Masaki Suwa,et al.  What do architects and students perceive in their design sketches? A protocol analysis , 1997 .

[7]  Remko van der Lugt,et al.  Brainsketching and How it Differs from Brainstorming , 2002 .

[8]  Remko van der Lugt,et al.  Developing a graphic tool for creative problem solving in design groups , 2000 .

[9]  R. van der Lugt,et al.  CONTEXT INDICATORS FOR DETERMINING LINKS BETWEEN DESIGN IDEAS , 2002 .

[10]  Joan G. Snodgrass,et al.  The role of visual similarity in picture categorization , 1986 .

[11]  G. A. Miller.  THE PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW THE MAGICAL NUMBER SEVEN, PLUS OR MINUS TWO: SOME LIMITS ON OUR CAPACITY FOR PROCESSING INFORMATION 1 , 1956 .

[12]  David Craig,et al.  The importance of drawing in the mechanical design process , 1990, Comput. Graph..

[13]  V. Goel.  Sketches of thought , 1995 .

[14]  R. van der Lugt.  Sketching in design idea generation meetings , 2001 .

[15]  G. Goldschmidt.  The dialectics of sketching , 1991 .

[16]  Edward Lumsdaine,et al.  Creative problem solving , 1995 .

[17]  Jonathan Stephen Fish,et al.  Amplifying the Mind’s Eye: Sketching and Visual Cognition , 1990 .

[18]  Allen Newell,et al.  Human Problem Solving. , 1973 .

[19]  Sara A. Bly,et al.  A use of drawing surfaces in different collaborative settings , 1988, CSCW '88.

[20]  M. Potter,et al.  Time to understand pictures and words , 1975, Nature.

[21]  J. G. Snodgrass,et al.  The role of visual similarity in picture categorization. , 1986, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[22]  Lindsay William Macdonald,et al.  Interacting with Virtual Environments , 1993 .

[23]  John C. Tang.  Findings from Observational Studies of Collaborative Work , 1991, Int. J. Man Mach. Stud..

[24]  John S. Gero,et al.  Drawings and the design process , 1998 .

[25]  Paul Rodgers,et al.  Visible ideas:Information patterns of conceptual sketch activity , 1998 .

[26]  Poul Henrik Kyvsgaard Hansen,et al.  Proceedings of the Design 2002 7th International Design Conference , 2002 .

[27]  Donald A. Schön,et al.  Kinds of seeing and their functions in designing , 1992 .

[28]  John C. Tang,et al.  A framework for understanding the workspace activity of design teams , 1988, CSCW '88.

[29]  Gerald F. Smith.  Idea‐Generation Techniques: A Formulary of Active Ingredients , 1998 .

[30]  V. Bruce,et al.  Visual Cognition: Computational, Experimental, and Neuropsychological Perspectives , 1989 .

[31]  Robert H. McKim,et al.  Experiences in Visual Thinking , 1972 .

[32]  Gabriela Goldschmidt,et al.  Contents and Structure in Design Reasoning , 1998 .