Remko van der Lugt

Contextmapping: experiences from practice

In recent years, various methods and techniques have emerged for mapping the contexts of peoples interaction with products. Designers and researchers use these techniques to gain deeper insight into the needs and dreams of prospective users of new products. As most of these techniques are still under development, there is a lack of practical knowledge about how such studies can be conducted. In this paper we share our insights, based on several projects from research and many years of industrial practice, of conducting user studies with generative techniques. The appendix contains a single case illustrating the application of these techniques in detail.

Developing a graphic tool for creative problem solving in design groups

Abstract Methods for stimulating creativity are strongly based on generating ideas in a sentential manner, while in product design visual expression is a strong device for stimulating creativity. Enabling designers to sketch in creative problem solving meetings may make these meeting more suitable for a product design context. We are interested in investigating the effects of including visual means of expression into creative problem solving meetings. The linkography system for analyzing links among design moves was adapted for this purpose. This paper describes four creative problem solving meeting experiments in which graphic variations on the brainstorming technique were explored. The results suggest that a substantial change in process occurs when including visual expression into creative problem solving meetings. Present visual adaptations of the brainstorming technique applied do not appear to suffice.

Functions of sketching in design idea generation meetings

This study consists of four experimental meetings, which explore whether functions of sketching in design activity are also valid for idea generation meetings in design. 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 others ideas in group activity, and 3) enhancing the access to earlier ideas. The results provide some support for the first and the third function. No support was found for the second function.

Reconsidering the divergent thinking guidelines for design idea generation activity

When designers need to generate ideas, they tend to take paper and pencil, and start to produce idea sketches. Or, they may call an idea generation meeting. The available techniques for generating ideas in such idea generation meetings are mainly based on writing as a working medium. This research project started with the notion that idea generation techniques for design could be enhanced if sketching could be included in such idea generation meetings. For, many researchers regard sketching to be instrumental not only to the designer’s creative process (e.g. Fish and Scrivener 1990; Goldschmidt 1991; Schon and Wiggins 1992; Goel 1995) but also to the design team’s creative process (Bly 1988; Tang and Leifer 1988; Scrivener and Clark 1994).