The paper explores a view of research on creativity in design not based on traditional cognitive science models. Research from the creative cognition standpoint is reviewed with an example and the problem of applying it to the design case is explained. Creative techniques used in design lack a scientific base and lack an evaluation of their effectiveness. They emphasise the generation of ideas and not the generation of tangible solutions. The argument states that design research should be looking neither to the act of idea generation nor to the act of form generation and reinterpretation but to the enacted use environment in which designers operate and from which functions emerge. Departing from new models in cognitive science two hypotheses are formed. The first claims that the creative outcome in design may be based on an enacted experience of use and not on a rationalisation of imagery or represented forms. The second claims that diagrams created during the design process, mainly in its first stages, may serve the purpose of problem finding and not of problem solving.

[Description taken from the abstract for this paper. Paper made available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 license.]

Listening to the voice of the customer is made complicated when the roles of the customer are carried out by more than one individual or stakeholder (a stakeholder performs one or more of the decision-making roles normally enacted by a single customer). The issues surrounding multiple stakeholder requirements are examined with particular reference to small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and the rehabilitation industry; this industry is concerned with products that enable the elderly and disabled to live more independently. A series of case studies has been conducted to identify the current practices of rehabilitation companies and the suitability of accepted design methods for incorporating the voice of the customer into the design process. The results of the study indicate that smaller companies within the rehabilitation industry do not use formal methods of design or market research; this is partly attributable to their limited resources and experience. An outline is given of a method developed by the CACTUS Project to enable resource-limited companies in the rehabilitation industry to incorporate the voice of the customer into their design. The method is currently being tested. It is hoped that the CACTUS approach will be applicable to other industries with similar characteristics and multiple stakeholders.

[Description taken from the abstract for this paper. Paper made available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 license.]

Some of the tools and theories that will be explored here to understand the potential links and interactions with C-K theory are: Web 2.0 collaboration tools, computer supported cooperative work (CSCW), knowledge management and Henry W Chesbrough’s Open Innovation model.

[Description taken from the abstract for this paper. Paper made available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

C-K design theory or concept-knowledge theory is both a design theory and a theory of reasoning in design. It defines design reasoning as a logic of expansion processes, i.e. a logic that organises the generation of unknown objects. The theory builds on several traditions of design theory, including systematic design, axiomatic design, creativity theories, general design theories, and artificial intelligence-based design models.
Claims made for C-K design theory include that it is the first design theory that:
1. Offers a comprehensive formalisation of design that is independent of any design domain or object
2. Explains invention, creation, and discovery within the same framework and as design processes.

The name of the theory is based on its central premises: the distinction between two spaces:
• a space of concepts C
• a space of knowledge K.

The process of design is defined as a double expansion of the C and K spaces through the application of four types of operators: C→C, C→K, K→C, K→K

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Blow molding (also known as blow moulding or blow forming) is a manufacturing process by which hollow plastic parts are formed. In general, there are three main types of blow molding: extrusion blow molding, injection blow molding, and stretch blow molding. The blow molding process begins with melting down the plastic and forming it into a parison or preform. The parison is a tube-like piece of plastic with a hole in one end in which compressed air can pass through. The parison is then clamped into a mold and air is pumped into it. The air pressure then pushes the plastic out to match the mold. Once the plastic has cooled and hardened the mold opens up and the part is ejected.

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Rotational molding, also known as rotomolding, rotocasting or spin casting, is a molding process for creating many kinds of mostly hollow items, typically of plastic. A heated hollow mold is filled with a charge or shot weight of material, it is then slowly rotated (usually around two perpendicular axes) causing the softened material to disperse and stick to the walls of the mold. In order to maintain even thickness throughout the part, the mold continues to rotate at all times during the heating phase and to avoid sagging or deformation also during the cooling phase. The process was applied to plastics in the 1940s but in the early years was little used because it was a slow process restricted to a small number of plastics. Over the past two decades, improvements in process control and developments with plastic powders have resulted in a significant increase in usage.

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