Article: Inspiration, images and design: an investigation of designers| information gathering strategies Journal: Journal of Design Research (JDR) 2008 Vol.7 No.4 pp.331 - 351 Abstract: Computational tools should efficiently support, and even enhance, designers| creativity. As a ground for such developments, design cognition studies aim at describing designers| mental strategies within the design process. So far, most researches have been focused on the idea generation phases, e.g. sketching activity, which is explicit enough to be observed and described. However, the early stages of design remain incompletely understood, while the informational phase is identified as a crucial step of the design process. In this context, our objective is to identify and evaluate inspirational information used by designers before generating ideas, and to describe how inspirational information is used. In this article, we report a two-part study (interviews and experimental protocol) carried out with professional designers. The main outcomes demonstrate that traditional and electronic resources are not used in the same way by designers. We also show that information gathering strategies are strongly influenced by designers| preference. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Inspiration, images and design: an investigation of designers' information gathering strategies

Authors: Celine Mougenot, Carole Bouchard, Ameziane Aoussat, Steve Westerman

Addresses: LCPI Design Lab, Arts & Metiers ParisTech, 151 Bd de l'Hopital, 75013 Paris, France. ' LCPI Design Lab, Arts & Metiers ParisTech, 151 Bd de l'Hopital, 75013 Paris, France. ' LCPI Design Lab, Arts & Metiers ParisTech, 151 Bd de l'Hopital, 75013 Paris, France. ' Psychology of Design Group, Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK

Abstract: Computational tools should efficiently support, and even enhance, designers| creativity. As a ground for such developments, design cognition studies aim at describing designers| mental strategies within the design process. So far, most researches have been focused on the idea generation phases, e.g. sketching activity, which is explicit enough to be observed and described. However, the early stages of design remain incompletely understood, while the informational phase is identified as a crucial step of the design process. In this context, our objective is to identify and evaluate inspirational information used by designers before generating ideas, and to describe how inspirational information is used. In this article, we report a two-part study (interviews and experimental protocol) carried out with professional designers. The main outcomes demonstrate that traditional and electronic resources are not used in the same way by designers. We also show that information gathering strategies are strongly influenced by designers| preference.

Keywords: creativity; design process; design cognition; design computing; images; information retrieval; inspiration; kansei; sectors of influence; mental strategies; early design stages; design information.

DOI: 10.1504/JDR.2008.026987

Journal of Design Research, 2008 Vol.7 No.4, pp.331 - 351

Published online: 12 Jul 2009 *

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Title: Inspiration, images and design: an investigation of designers' information gathering strategies

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