Interactive Design Exploration with Alt.Text

Abstract

It is well accepted that search is an effective model for design. Newell and Simons' Human Information Processing model is foundational to this view. Designers use symbols and structures to express, store, off-load, recall, and manage their work. They mix general and detailed elements, organize their problem-space differently, seek ways to identify repetitive tasks, and utilize external media. An integral aspect of design-search is the comparison of alternatives, because the goal is usually to come close, if not fully satisfy, a set of requirements. Searching problem-spaces with currently available tools is challenging due to a number of issues related to creating and comparing alternative representations of one's thought process and outcome. In this paper, we present Alt.Text, a prototype that we developed to explore strategies for supporting design search. While Alt.Text only handles text-based documents, we believe that many of its features can be generalized to the domain of architectural design.