The Impact of Technology on Creativity in Design: An Enhancement?

Technology may be considered as an interface between individuals and the products they create, but we have to determine whether the use of new systems effectively enhance individuals' creative activities. In this paper, we present a new angle of reflection that we illustrate in the field of creative design, since it is a constant challenge for designers to introduce creativity in the projects they work on. The approach we propose is centred on designers' cognitive processes. We argue that both the development of new CAD (computer‐aided design) systems and their assessment should be conducted on the basis of a deep understanding of designers' cognitive processes. In accordance with this view, we present three empirical studies that were conducted in order to analyse the impact of new design support systems on designers' cognitive processes. Therefore, the results we present contribute to further our knowledge of whether new CAD technologies effectively facilitate designers' activities and enhance their creativity.     

空间布局的约束图方法

空间布局的自动化是智能CAD领域的研究方向之一,旨在为设计师提供智能辅助工具，用于求解在建筑、厂房设备、大规模集成电路以及产品包装等等若干领域出现的布局问题.图论方法是空间布局研究的主要途径之一.以往的布局模型由于难以充分表达知识与约束,使得设计过程与结果难以控制.本文提出一种可应用于2D及3D布局的规范约束图及层次约束图模型,给出了约束图解的存在条件.该模型可以表示精细的布局知识与约束,在一定程度上克服了以往图模型不能充分表达布局知识与约束的不足.本文还给出了基于约束图的布局生成算法.     

现代招贴的创造性思维

现代设计艺术的发展,愈来愈要求设计师具有强烈的创新意识,创造性思维。但在这个到处充斥着创意术语而又缺乏创意的环境下,如何创造创意?也许我们应该改变的是我们的思维,只有具有创造性思维才能做出独创性的作品来。     

Affective judgment in creative design: A method of fitness evaluation to the problem/solution spaces

A method of fitness evaluation to the problem/solution spaces is proposed based on the affective judgment in creative design. Six experienced designers and one-hundred-one users participated in a set of exploratory experiments on affective judgement of automobile design. From the experimental data, we identify the differences in designer's affective appeal in a design and user's affective response to the design. From data analysis, we confirm the general validity of that the ‘creative’ aspect of design can be described by introducing the notions of ‘default’ and ‘surprise’ problem/solution spaces. The affective judgments based on the expectations of designers and users are shown to be an effective alternative to quantitative metrics in design evaluation and concept selection. The presented findings suggested that the success and creativity are not the same, the goal of design practice is to find solutions that are both creative and successful.     

Computational support for collective creativity

The goal of our research is to develop computer systems that support designers’ collective creativity; such systems support individual creative aspects in design through the use of representations created by others in the community. We have developed two systems, IAM-eMMa and EVIDII, that both aim at supporting designers in finding visual images that would be useful for their creative design task. IAM-eMMa uses knowledge-based rules, which are constructed by other designers, to retrieve images related to a design task, and infers the underlying “rationale” when a designer chooses one of the images. EVIDII allows designers to associate affective words and images, and then shows several visual representations of the relationships among designers, images and words. By observing designers interacting with the two systems, we have identified that systems for supporting collective creativity need to be based on design knowledge that: (1) is contextualized; (2) is respectable and trustful; and (3) enables “appropriation” of a design task.     

Supporting creative and reflective processes

Creativity has long been seen as a mysterious process. A better understanding of the nature of creativity and the processes that underpin it are needed in order to be able to make contributions to the design of creativity support tools. In this paper, current theories of creativity and models of the creative process are discussed and an empirical study outlined of participants individually and collaboratively undertaking two creative tasks in different domains. The tasks ‘write a poem’ and ‘design a poster’ were carried out via two media; pen and paper and with the use of a computer and software tools. Schön's theory of reflection-in-action is applied to the study results. The research has generated software requirements for tools to support these specific creative tasks, and also initial design features to enable support for group reflection of evolving creative artefacts.     

Automatic implementation of constraints in component based applications

Component-based software architectures have become one of the predominant solutions in the software technologies scenario. As well, constraints have been assuming an ever more relevant role in modeling distributed systems as long as business rules implementation, design-by-contract practice, and fault-tolerance requirements are concerned. Nevertheless, component developers are not sufficiently supported by existing tools to implement these features.We address such a deficiency and we propose some implementation patterns to translate constraint models into source code and two automatic tools: the Component Constraint Modeler (CoCoMod) and the Component Constraint Generator (CoCoGen). CoCoMod enables designers to specify both component interfaces and constraints as visual UML models and automatically generates textual models for interfaces and constraints. CoCoGen executes the implementation patters to translate constraint models into source code. A simple case study is presented in order to show an application of the proposed approach.     

The Designer's Self-Identity — Myths of Creativity and the Management of Teams1

This paper describes recent research conducted at Sheffield Hallam University in which practising designers reported on their experiences of working in a cross functional team. The survey related these experiences to the designers' attitudes to their creativity. Two models for creativity are proposed—one based on the romantic stereotype of the creative genius, the other taking creativity to be an attribute possessed by all human beings in some measure, which can be enhanced by personal effort or by training. Identifying features of cross functional teams which are likely to demand certain personal qualities in designers, the paper notes that these are at odds with the qualities of a ‘romantic-type’ creative person. The link between these qualities, and notions of personality as a set of fixed attributes is pointed out. Several theories of personality which describe mechanisms for change in self identity are described. It is noted that the results of the survey suggest that in many cases designers have a pragmatic attitude to their creativity, despite the prevalence of the romantic stereotype for creativity in the literature of both management and education. Principles are suggested for design education, to enable designers to re-evaluate creativity reflexively as a component of their self identity to enhance their performance as teamworkers.     

A generative design technique for exploring shape variations

Because innovative and creative design is essential to a successful product, this work brings the benefits of generative design in the conceptual phase of the product development process so that designers/engineers can effectively explore and create ingenious designs and make better design decisions. We proposed a state-of-the-art generative design technique (GDT), called Space-filling-GDT (Sf-GDT), for the creation of innovative designs. The proposed Sf-GDT has the ability to create variant optimal design alternatives for a given computer-aided design (CAD) model. An effective GDT should generate design alternatives that cover the entire design space. Toward that end, the criterion of space-filling is utilized, which uniformly distribute designs in the design space thereby giving a designer a better understanding of possible design options. To avoid creating similar designs, a weighted-grid-search approach is developed and integrated into the Sf-GDT. One of the core contributions of this work lies in the ability of Sf-GDT to explore hybrid design spaces consisting of both continuous and discrete parameters either with or without geometric constraints. A parameter-free optimization technique, called Jaya algorithm, is integrated into the Sf-GDT to generate optimal designs. Three different design parameterization and space formulation strategies; explicit, interactive, and autonomous, are proposed to set up a promising search region(s) for optimization. Two user interfaces; a web-based and a Windows-based, are also developed to utilize Sf-GDT with the existing CAD software having parametric design abilities. Based on the experiments in this study, Sf-GDT can generate creative design alternatives for a given model and outperforms existing state-of-the-art techniques.     

Exploratory Study of Organizational Creativity in Creative Organizations

The creative industries represent an important and growing sector of the UK economy. This paper explores organizational creativity in firms within the creative industries. A questionnaire based on both Amabile's ‘Organizational Creativity’ model and Ekvall's ‘Creative Climate’ model was completed in ten firms in different sectors of the creative industries. Follow‐up interviews with five firms were also conducted, to compare the outputs from each model as well as the variation in responses from firms in different sectors. The results indicate that both models of organizational creativity are complementary, although not necessarily fully applicable in the creative industries. Specific differences between firms in the graphic design/branding sector and firms in product design were also observed.     

Transition rather than balance: Organizing constraints for collective creativity in pharmaceutical development

When it comes to organizing for collective creativity, management scholars typically advise balancing between constraint and freedom. However, this suggestion to balance is often too enigmatic in practice, neglects the dynamics inherent in creative processes, and predominantly highlights the inhibiting aspects of constraints. Thus, the present article aims to rethink this balancing proposition by asking how constraints unfold during collective creative processes. Based on four cases of pharmaceutical development, it illustrates how collective creativity is enabled by constraints from two distinct sources, namely restraint and contingency. The article further shows how and why these constraint sources alternate along the development trajectory. While constraints can enable collective creativity, phases of constraint transition are eventually necessary to revitalize the development process. Building upon these findings, the article concludes that organizing constraints for collective creativity is a matter of transition rather than balance.     

基于时间约束的软件工程资源配置Petri网检测模型

随着物联网、云计算等大规模分布式系统在国内的日益流行,软件工程的应用环境已经不可避免的转向适用于分布式环境。而已有的基于时间约束的软件工程资源动态配置模型大都有所局限,无法评价其在大规模分布式环境中的效果。文中提出了一种基于Petri网模型的基于时间约束的软件工程资源动态配置检测模型,依据petri网理论,模拟大规模分布式环境下,检测异构软件工程资源动态配置模型间的协作与冲突。从而为软件工程资源动态配置模型更好的应用于实践,提供坚实的理论基础。实验证明,该方法可以及时的发现大规模分布式环境中,软件工程资源动态配置模型的冲突,为设计者及时反馈信息,避免损失。     

The Development of Creative Capabilities in and out of Creative Organizations: Three Case Studies

This paper describes and analyses how creative organizations develop and use routines and processes to strengthen their creative capabilities. Using an exploratory framework based in resource‐based theory and creativity literature, it focuses on the role of the creative entrepreneur as a key component for organizations developing creative capabilities. The creative entrepreneur or agent builds collaboration, exploits knowledge and enhances relationships in and out of an organization. Drawing on three in‐depth case studies from different sectors (theatre, sports and software), the article expands the idea of creative capabilities to encompass routines and processes in organizations in industries generally not considered ‘creative’. Furthermore, it outlines how the creative entrepreneur is instrumental in developing and using the creative routines so that they form creative capabilities. Based on the analysis, the article discusses creative capabilities, collaboration in the process, and the creative entrepreneur’s role in developing and using them.     

Evocation Processes by Novice and Expert Designers: Towards Stimulating Analogical Thinking

Design activity occurs in many professions, ranging from technical to more artistic domains. Whatever the domain, it is a constant challenge for designers to introduce creativity in each design project they work on and minimize the tendency to repeat familiar design features. The goal of this paper is to present a cognitive approach to design problem solving as well as an experimental study. This study aims at determining whether creative ideas can be enhanced by the presentation of external sources of inspiration. In particular, we analyse the effect of the presentation of different kinds of sources (intra‐ versus interdomain sources, which are presented as graphical representations or as verbal labels) according to the designers’ level of expertise (lay‐designers versus professionals). Results show that it is possible to enhance evocation processes in design, but that it is dependent on both the nature of sources of inspiration and the designers’ level of expertise. Based on these results, we suggest ways for enhancing creative ideas in design tasks.     

Cognitive,collaborative, conceptual and creative — Four characteristics of the next generation of knowledge-based CAD systems: A study in biologically inspired design

We envision that the next generation of knowledge-based CAD systems will be characterized by four features: they will be based on cognitive accounts of design, and they will support collaborative design, conceptual design, and creative design. In this paper, we first analyze these four dimensions of CAD. We then report on a study in the design, development and deployment of a knowledge-based CAD system for supporting biologically inspired design that illustrates these four characteristics. This system, called DANE for Design by Analogy to Nature Engine, provides access to functional models of biological systems. Initial results from in situ deployment of DANE in a senior-level interdisciplinary class on biologically inspired design indicates its usefulness in helping designers conceptualize design of complex systems, thus promising enough to motivate continued work on knowledge-based CAD for biologically inspired design. More importantly from our perspective, DANE illustrates how cognitive studies of design can inform the development of CAD systems for collaborative, conceptual, and creative design, help assess their use in practice, and provide new insights into human interaction with knowledge-based CAD systems.     

Fortune Favours Only the Prepared Mind: Why Sources of Inspiration are Essential for Continuing Creativity

Intellectual health like physical health depends on a balance between feeding and exercise. But the demands of work often make a healthy balance very hard to maintain. In a detailed study of the knitwear industry and in comparisons with other design fields, we have observed that designers use external sources of ideas for a variety of different purposes throughout the design process. We have also observed that designers’ creative potential is often limited by the failure of managers to understand design, and especially their designers’ need to search for sources of new ideas. Managing design processes to maximize creative output requires both an understanding of the role of sources of ideas in the creative process, and proactive management to support and encourage the renewal of intellectual resources. In this paper we suggest some practical steps for supporting continuing creativity.     

The Interplay between Creativity Issues and Design Theories: A New Perspective for Design Management Studies?

In this article, we analyse the relationship between creativity issues and design theory. Although these two notions seem to correspond to different academic fields (psychology, cognitive science and management for creativity; engineering science and logic for design theory), they appear to be deeply related when it comes to design methods and management. Analysing three historical moments in design theory building (the 1850s, with the ratio method for industrial upgrading in Germany, the 20th century with systematic design, and the 1920s with the Bauhaus theory), we point to the dialectical interplay that links creativity and design theory, structured around the notion of ‘fixation effect’: creativity identifies fixation effects, which become the targets of new design theories; design theories invent models of thought to overcome them; and, in turn, these design theories can also create new fixation effects that will then be designated by creativity studies. This dialectical interplay leads to regular inventions of new ways of managing design, i.e., new ways of managing knowledge, processes and organizations for design activities. We use this framework to analyse recent trends in creativity and design theories.     

浅谈产品的创新设计

在现代工业产品设计中,设计创意与创新设计对产品设计的成功起着举足轻重的作用,设计师的创意与创新设计能使其设计的工业产品给大众留有深刻的印象,因为新奇能给予人很深的印象,此论文谈及了设计的表现基础,同时对一些名师的设计进行了分析,使大家更加了解到工业设计中的创意与创新对工业产品的作用,希望通过此论文的学习,使大家能更多的了解创意与创新设计,并能在以后的设计中突发其想,做出更多优秀新奇的工业产品设计。