Katerina Alexiou

Involvement of right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in ill-structured design cognition: An fMRI study

In ill-structured tasks, the problem to be solved is poorly specified and there is no unique correct solution. Most evidence on brain mechanisms involved in dealing with such tasks comes from neuropsychology. Here, we developed an ill-structured design task suitable for testing in a functional neuroimaging environment and compared it with a matched well-structured problem-solving task using fMRI. Consistent with prior neuropsychological results, the design task was associated with greater activity in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compared with problem solving. This differential activity was specific to the problem studying phase rather than performance. Furthermore, the design and problem-solving tasks differed not only in overall levels of brain activity but also in patterns of functional interactions between brain regions. These results provide new evidence on the role of right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in ill-structured situations, such as those involved in design cognition. Additionally, these results confirm the suitability of functional neuroimaging for studying such situations.

Coordination and emergence in design

Over the last few decades there has been a growing interest in the concept of emergence in design research. Despite this interest, the meaning and scope of emergence in design is not clear. Indeed, there are two different views of emergence in design literature, representing different types of theories about design. The first is focused on individual cognition or perception, and the second is focused on social aspects of design activity. This paper grapples with the question of how we can reconcile the two perspectives in a theory of design as an emergent phenomenon. More specifically, the paper builds a model of design as a distributed process that links together cognitive and social dimensions of design activity, and uses this model in order to elucidate the meaning and role of emergence in design. Overall, the paper explicates the relation between emergence, complexity and coordination as a vehicle for linking individual and social conceptions of design.

Imaging the Designing Brain: A Neurocognitive Exploration of Design Thinking

The paper presents a functional magnetic imaging study (fMRI) aimed at exploring the neurological basis of design thinking. The study carried out brain scans of volunteers while performing design and problem solving tasks. The findings suggest that (ill-structured) design thinking differs from well-structured problem solving in terms of overall levels of brain activity, but also in terms of patterns of functional interactions between brain regions. The paper introduces the methodology and the developed experimental framework, presents the findings, and discusses the potential role and contribution of brain imaging in design research.

Rethinking the cybernetic basis of design: the concepts of control and organization

Purpose – Even though design as a purposeful activity naturally fits into the realm of cybernetics, the emphasis on control has limited the scope of using cybernetic principles in design. The idea of organization, another fundamental concept in cybernetics, has received less attention in design research and seems worthy of further exploration. The purpose of the paper is to review the two concepts and clarify their role and meaning in design. Overall, using insights from complex systems science, the paper attempts to recast the relationship between cybernetics and design.Design/methodology/approach – The treatment uses category theory as a language and methodological approach in order to formally express the concepts of “organization” “control” and “design” and then study the relations between them.Findings – Organization is defined using the mathematical concept of sketch, i.e. as a characterization of the complementary relation between theories and models. The paper demonstrates that the peculiarity of ...

Ambient displays: influencing movement patterns

Ambient displays are gradually augmenting the principal static elements of architecture, such as walls, transforming space into a dynamic and ever-changing environment. Does the addition of such digital elements influence peoples perception and understanding of space around them? If so, do ambient displays lead to behavioral changes like peoples movement in such environments? In this particular study, a series of experiments were conducted to investigate public interior spaces with embedded ambient displays. The findings are then presented showing how the presence of an ambient display through its visual depth affects and changes movement patterns. This study discusses the ability of an ambient display to refine navigation paths and suggests that its visual depth can enhance its effectiveness.

A Complexity Theoretic View of Cities as Artefacts of Design Intentionality

Cities are perhaps the largest and most complex artefacts created by human activity. The characterisation of an object or system as an artefact assumes the existence of some form of intentionality behind its creation. Complexity science has been used to understand the formation of cities as products of self-organization and evolution, but it has paid little attention to the role of intentionality and design in the formation of cities. So in what sense are cities artefacts? Who is the design agent behind the creation of cities? Can societies be characterised as design agents? In this paper we unravel a view of design as a capacity that is derived from certain organisational principles, irrespective of whether these are realised in a brain, a cognitive system or a society. The essay brings together insights from design research, cognitive neuroscience and complexity to propose a theory of design intentionality that can be applied to cities.

Understanding design as a multiagent coordination process: distribution, complexity, and emergence

Design is increasingly perceived as a social process that involves the participation of multiple agents with multiple, and often conflicting, needs, knowledge, and goals. It is proposed here that the notion of coordination is an apposite concept for capturing the social distributed character of design and for reconciling social and cognitive perceptions of design activity. Coordination places emphasis on issues of interdependency, complexity, and distribution, and facilitates the understanding of design by including notions of collaboration as well as conflict. Additionally, coordination is used to capture the generative, creative aspects of design. In this study I use insights from complexity science to offer an understanding of coordination as a process that entails the emergence of collective design solutions.