It is often claimed that Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools are unsuitable for design ideation as they are said to not support serendipitous interpretation, playfulness and creativity. However, this notion is based on anecdotal evidence and research that was done using CAD tools now considered obsolete. This study therefore aims to provide insights on the use of currently available CAD tools for design ideation. This was done by having three experts evaluate the use of pen-and-paper sketches and four different CAD tools for design ideation and discuss the results. The results from this study suggest that CAD tools have the potential to support serendipity and provide an environment for creativity and playfulness. There are several opportunities for the use of CAD tools in design ideation. This is certainly true in design fields where it is notoriously hard to make sketches, such as in lighting design.

While pen-and-paper sketches is generally considered the best tool for design ideation, there are certain areas of design where the ideas being generated do not easily lend themselves to sketching. This study reports on two cases that explores the use of game engines in combination with Virtual Reality (VR) to visualize lighting in the automotive industry. In the first case, the exterior lights of a car were visualized using Unreal Engine 4 and evaluated using research through design and expert interviews. In the second case, Unreal Engine VR Editor was used to explore ideation and concept development of interior lighting in long haulage trucks. The insights from the cases suggest that game engines and VR can be used to quickly develop and display ideas, concepts and scenarios in the early phases of the lighting design process. These strengths suggest that game engines and VR also have the potential to support design ideation for other types of design.

These four papers constitute the research foundation for this licentiate thesis. They are appended in full at the end of the thesis. The four papers will be referred to as Paper AD in the text. The co-authors listed are the students who did the work which the cases are based on (Patrik Andersson, Johan Jönsson and Jens Wängdahl) and the main supervisor of the thesis, Renee Wever.