Deniz Hasirci

Understanding the Effects of Cognition in Creative Decision Making: A Creativity Model for Enhancing the Design Studio Process

ABSTRACT The essential components of creativity—persons, processes and products—were investigated inside a creative environment by deeply focusing on the cognitive stages of the creative decision making process. Mental imagery and external representation were considered as the implicit parts of creativity for enhancing design studio process. An experiment was conducted with 15 subjects who designed the public area of a train as the task in design studio. Observation, protocol analysis, and rating scales were used as assessment tools. Considering the components of creativity, it was found that the highest correlation was between process and overall creativity. Person and product followed process, respectively. However, no significant relationship was observed between imagery and creativity in design process. Three-dimensional representations were found to lead to more creativity compared to 2-dimensional depictions.

Hidden Dimensions of Creativity Elements in Design Process

The aim of the study was to determine the items that can be evaluated as the components of creativity in design process. Factor analysis was applied to determine how well the items corresponded with the explored creativity characteristics. An overall component analysis was conducted to achieve a holistic approach to creative design process. It is found that the primary dimension responsible of 46% of the total variance is only composed of product components. The second dimension responsible of 19.54%, and the third dimension responsible of 14.46% of the total variance are both composed of the interaction of person and process components. Therefore, it can be concluded that the product is the strongest factor in determining creativity in design process.

A participatory product design process with children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract This study aims to explore the ways of involving children with autism in participatory product design processes. Due to the impaired skills of children with autism, a key aspect of the process is to gain an understanding of the nature of the disorder and how these children interact with their social and material surroundings as well as their daily life problems. Considering this, a case study was conducted with children with autism, their parents and teachers, and also industrial design students in a public special education centre in İzmir, Turkey. The design task was to reconsider the conventional trampoline design with respect to the needs of the sample group and the special education centre as well as the benefits it provides. The task was based on the patterns of behaviours, actions and movement. Observations, interviews and questionnaires were carried out, as well as collaborative meetings and discussion meetings. Through the case study, the findings provided insights into conducting a participatory process with children with autism, the roles of the participants, and the interaction and communication among them. Furthermore, participants’ attitude towards participatory design, the potential benefits of the design process, and innovations to benefit children with autism were explained.