Creativity in the design process: co-evolution of problem–solution

Dorst, C.H.; Cross, Nigel

doi:10.1016/s0142-694x(01)00009-6

Cited by 1,645 publications

(1,318 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…While research on 'how designers think' has been substantial (e.g. Cross, 1982;Dorst & Cross, 2001;Stempfle & Badke-Schaub, 2002) the attempt to unpack design thinking as well as explicated reasoning in teacher team design talk is fairly novel. Prior studies on the design processes that teachers conduct in design teams have focused on outcome variables and tend to be very abstract.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding decision making in teachers’ curriculum design approaches

Boschman

McKenney

Voogt

2014

Education Tech Research Dev

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The goal of this study was to reach a better understanding of the intuitive decisions teachers make when designing a technology-rich learning environment. A multiple case-study design was employed to examine what kinds of factors (external priorities, existing orientations or practical concerns) influence design interactions of teams of kindergarten teachers. This study combines semi-structured interview data on teachers' existing orientations with analysis of teachers' design discussions during the design of learning material for a technology-rich learning environment. Three teams of teachers voluntarily participated. Findings on the existing orientations suggest that knowledge and beliefs about teaching and learning related to knowledge and beliefs on technology and early literacy. The analysis of teachers' discussions revealed that the process could be characterized to a large extent as brainstorms; and that problems are not addressed in depth. Rather they are resolved through brainstorming, and most argumentation falls in the realm of practical concerns: how to organize learning activities and how to respond to contingencies. The findings of this study suggest that teachers' explicated design reasoning is mostly influenced by practical concerns, yet their own knowledge and beliefs play an important role at the start of the design process. However, these existing orientations as well as the practical concerns that emerge during the conversation tend to be narrow in scope. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in light of how this study provides understanding of how to support these teachers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding decision making in teachers’ curriculum design approaches

Boschman

McKenney

Voogt

2014

Education Tech Research Dev

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“…The requirement for substantial preliminary problem structuring may be considered to be a crucial difference between the Design and Problem Solving tasks in the present study. Indeed, within design theory it has been proposed that a fundamental characteristic of design cognition is the requirement to define the problem as well as the solution (Dorst and Cross, 2001; for further discussion of the present tasks from the perspective of design studies see Alexiou et al, in press). …”

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2010

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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 illstructured 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 illstructured situations, such as those involved in design cognition. Additionally, these results confirm the suitability of functional neuroimaging for studying such situations.

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“…Many studies have relied on experiments and observations with student designers, rather than experienced, practising designers possessing more mature cognitive strategies. However, Dorst (1997) provided a study of design processes derived from protocol studies of experienced industrial designers, and Dorst and Cross (2001) related these to a problem-solution co-evolution model of creative design. Dorst and Cross reported examples of co-evolution in which the designer formulates a partial structuring of the problem-space and then transfers that partial structure into the solution-space, and so develops both problem and solution in parallel.…”

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confidence: 99%

Solution driven versus problem driven design: strategies and outcomes

2006

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Data from protocol studies of nine experienced industrial designers, performing the same task, were analysed to develop an expertise model of the product design process. The protocol data and the expertise model were used to identify four different cognitive strategies employed by the designers: problem driven, solution driven, information driven, and knowledge driven design strategies. These strategies were then related to task outcomes such as solution quality and creativity, and to process aspects such as iterative activity. The different strategies appear not to be related to overall solution quality in any straightforward manner. Designers using a solution driven strategy tended to have lower overall solution quality scores but higher creativity scores. Designers using a problem driven design strategy tended to produce the best results in terms of the balance of both overall solution quality and creativity. Keywords: Cognitive strategies, design process, protocol studiesIn concluding a recent review article on expertise in design, Cross (2004) suggested that 'expert designers appear to be "ill-behaved" problem solvers', especially in respect of their focus on solution generation, rather than problem analysis. This aspect of design cognition has been observed many times, and can be traced back to Lawson's (1979) formalised problem solving experiments with science and architecture students, from which he categorised their problem solving strategies as either 'problem focused' or 'solution focused', and claimed the latter as being more characteristic of design-based problem solving.The recent focus of studies in design cognition has been through the use of protocol studies (Cross, Christiaans and Dorst, 1996). Many studies have relied on experiments and observations with student designers, rather than experienced, practising designers possessing more mature cognitive strategies. However, Dorst (1997) provided a study of design processes derived from protocol studies of experienced industrial designers, and Dorst and Cross (2001) related these to a problem-solution co-evolution model of creative design. Dorst and Cross reported examples of co-evolution in which the designer formulates a partial structuring of the problem-space and then transfers that partial structure into the solution-space, and so develops both problem and solution in parallel. They suggested that there were also converse cases in which solution structuring preceded problem structuring, that is, in which the designer first identifies a partial structure in the solution space, such as a preferred shape or form, and then uses that to structure the problem space. These two variant strategies of co-evolution might be labelled as 'problem driven' and 'solution driven' design strategies. Following Lawson (1979) and others, solution driven strategies might be expected to be the dominant form in design.For some time, there has also been interest in relationships between cognitive style, design strategy and design performance (Cross, 1985; Kvan and Y...

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Creativity in the design process: co-evolution of problem–solution

Cited by 1,645 publications

References 6 publications

Understanding decision making in teachers’ curriculum design approaches

Understanding decision making in teachers’ curriculum design approaches

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

Solution driven versus problem driven design: strategies and outcomes

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