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Divergent thinking and the design process

This conference paper has been published in Roberts, P.H. and Norman, E.W.L. (eds). IDATER 99 : International Conference on Design and Technology Educational Research and Curriculum Development. Loughborough: Loughborough University, pp.224-229.

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.]

Link: http://hdl.handle.net/2134/1403
Author: Luis Quental Pereira
Publication Date: 1999
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/
Rights: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Generic Licence.

Topic: Creativity methods.

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Incorporating the voice of multiple customers into product design

This article has been published in the journal, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture and was submitted to Loughborough’s Institutional Repository (https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/) by the author and made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Generic Licence.

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.]

Link: http://hdl.handle.net/2134/4615
Author: Sarah Bamforth; N.J. Brookes
Publication Date: 2002
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/
Rights: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Generic Licence.

Topic: Specification formulation.

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A dynamic learning and teaching resource for sustainable design

This resource aims to share knowledge and practice from a programme in Product Design at the University of Leeds. To access the resource users are required to register for free.

Most sustainability problems are system problems (for example, transport or food consumption) and almost insoluble without completely new ways of thinking. To address sustainability issues, which in broad terms are the key issues of our times, designers need to be able to understand design problems in context, envisage and describe better future systems and then design products that could be part of a new improved system.

This resource has been developed at the University of Leeds as part of the Royal Academy of Engineering supported scheme of Visiting Professors in Engineering Design for Sustainable Development and is intended for teachers, tutors, lecturers, academics and researchers. A major aim of the Royal Academy of Engineering scheme is to create transferable case studies.

The resource contains materials needed to deliver and assess a sustainable design project where students research a problem area, envision a future in the problem domain, define a brief for a product that could be part of that future and design a product that responds to the brief. It has been developed as a 100 study-hour project as part of the University of Leeds undergraduate programme in Product Design.

[Description and screenshot taken from the University of Leeds' website for this resource. This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC 2.0 Licence.]

Link: http://www.engineering.leeds.ac.uk/resources/sustainabledesign/index.php
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/
Rights: Except where otherwise stated, copyright of all materials resides with the University of Leeds (see http://www.leeds.ac.uk/terms/), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 UK License.

Topic: Design for sustainability.

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New product introduction tools

This resource is from The University of Bolton topics library. Topics are stand-alone elements of teaching material that are likely to be used in more than one unit, module, or course. This topic is one of several looking at design issues in electronics.

The electronics industry is continually under pressure to maximise profits. To do this, an organisation will strive to reduce development and manufacturing costs and time, produce the best quality products and, therefore, satisfy the customer.

Implementing tools and philosophies to be used during NPI can fulfil these requirements within the NPI process. For the purposes of this study, we will consider three areas that the tools affect:

Quality Engineering Tools. These work throughout various stages to ensure the product is of the best quality.

Product Design Tools. These would be used predominantly during the design functions, to ensure that the right product is specified and designed and to reduce design time and costs.

Manufacturing Tools. These would be used during the manufacturing phases, including process design and prototyping, to reduce manufacturing costs and times.

[Description and screenshot taken from The University of Bolton's website for this topic. This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Licence.]

Link: http://www.ami.ac.uk/courses/topics/0217_npit/index.html
Author: Martin Tarr
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
Rights: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence.

Topic: Design processes, Principles of design.

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Interactive material selection case studies

These case studies are based on the work of Professor Mike Ashby in the book Materials Selection and Mechanical Design and in CES EduPack. They have been made into interactive case studies that students can access via a web browser (if flash is enabled). This work has been supported by the UK Centre for Materials Education.

You can get access to these resources by registering for free. By registering on this page, you will receive a user name and password to download open access teaching resources. They are the ones with the blue OER logo next to them. The files are approximately 3MB and will take some time to open. The external links to other resources in the case studies will only work if your browser security settings allow that.
The open access teaching resources are aimed at undergraduates on materials-related courses across different science, engineering and design disciplines. Most do not require the use of the CES EduPack. They include interactive case studies, data booklets and material property charts.

[Description and screenshot taken from the Granta's Teaching Resource website. The case studies are made available under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 License.]

Link: http://www.grantadesign.com/education/resources/open/selection.htm
Author: Mike Ashby; Granta
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights: The resources are provided as open educational resources under a Creative Commons BY SA NC copyright license.

Topic: Materials selection.

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Durability of materials

The Cambridge Engineering Selector EduPack 2009 Durability package is available for download as a pdf document. It provides source information on operating environments and their affect on materials.

Durability of Materials
View more documents from CORE-Materials

The performances of materials in the following types of environment are covered:
water and aqueous environments
acids and alkalis
fuels, oils and solvents
halogens and gases
built environments
flammability
UV radiation
thermal environments

Further reading references are also given.

Link: http://core.materials.ac.uk/repository/granta-design/durability/pdf/CESdurability.pdf
Author: Granta Design
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
Rights: This work is licensed by Granta Design under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 UK License.

Topic: Materials selection.

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Product design and development 2.0 applied C-K theory [to innovate in a digital age]

The purpose of this paper is to discuss some applied implications of the Concept-Knowledge Theory (C-K Theory) introduced by Armand Hatchuel and Benoît Weil in their 2003 paper. This analysis is required because in a new information age; where powerful IT tools provide the means to work in multiuser collaborative virtual spaces, and where advanced automated semantical indexing engines allow the knowledge to be more readily available than ever, the implications for a design theory of these characteristics is deep since the concepts as well as the knowledge can be accelerated and reinforced. But this can only happens if the right tools are applied understanding the nature of the underling process that dominates creativity and innovation in human endeavours.

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.]

Link: http://www.openinnovate.co.uk/product-design-and-development-2-0-applied-c-k-theory-to-innovate-in-a-digital-age/
Author: Pedro Parraguez Ruiz
Publication Date: 2009
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
Rights: Content of the blog openinnovate.co.uk by Pedro Parraguez Ruiz is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://advient.net/pedro

Topic: Creativity methods.

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C-K theory

This Wikipedia entry provides a description of C-K theory looking at the genesis and structure of the theory.

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

[Description and screenshot taken from the Wikipedia page for this article. Text is available under a CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported License.]

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-K_Theory
License: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_3.0_Unported_License
Rights: Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Terms_of_use for details.

Topic: Principles of design.

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Blow molding

This Wikipedia entry provides a description of blow moulding including history and types of process.

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.

[Description and screenshot taken from the Wikipedia page for this article. Text is available under a CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported License.]

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blow_molding
License: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_3.0_Unported_License
Rights: Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Terms_of_use for details.

Topic: Moulding.

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Rotational moulding

This Wikipedia entry provides a description of rotational moulding including history, equipment and tooling, production process, materials, typical products, design considerations, and process: advantages, limitations, and material requirements.

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.

[Description and screenshot taken from the Wikipedia page for this article. Text is available under a CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported License.]

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotational_molding
License: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_3.0_Unported_License
Rights: Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Terms_of_use for details.

Topic: Moulding.

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