The Prototype for X (PFX) Framework: Assessing the Impact of PFX on Desirability, Feasibility, and Viability of End Designs

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Menold ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson ◽  
Kathryn W. Jablokow
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Design Studies ◽  
Design For X ◽  
Final Design ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Research And Design

Each year, companies spend billions of dollars on product research and design. Studies indicate that anywhere from 40–50% of those resources are wasted on cancelled products or those which yield poor results. The largest sunk cost of product development occurs during the prototyping phase of the design process, yet engineering design research has largely overlooked this pivotal stage in the design process. This study is a portion of a larger project based on a new theoretical framework for prototyping called Prototype for X or PFX. PFX draws from Human-Centered Design (HCD), Design Thinking (DT), and Design for X (DFX) frameworks and methods to enhance the design process and enable designers to prototype more effectively. Among the anticipated impacts of PFX are increases in user satisfaction, technical quality, and manufacturability of end designs. The research described in this paper marks the first step in testing the impact of PFX on final design outcomes. Results from a between-subjects analysis indicate that PFX methods helped increase the desirability, feasibility, and viability of end designs. These results imply that teams introduced to PFX methods produced prototypes that outperformed designs from the control teams across user satisfaction, perceived value, and manufacturability metrics. These results improve our understanding of the prototyping process and highlight the potential impact that structured prototyping methods could have on end designs.

scholarly journals Axiomatic Design: 30 Years After

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mats Nordlund ◽  
Taesik Lee ◽  
Sang-Gook Kim
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Organizational Design ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Axiomatic Design ◽  
Environment Design ◽  
Good Design ◽  
Axiomatic Design Theory ◽  
Practical Experiences

In 1977, Nam P Suh proposed a different approach to design research. Suh’s approach was different in that it introduced the notions of domains and layers in a 2-D design thinking and stipulated a set of axioms that describes what is a good design. Following Suh’s 2-D reasoning structure in a zigzagging manner and applying these axioms through the design process should enable the designer to arrive at a good design. In this paper, we present our own experiences in applying Suh’s theories to software design, product design, organizational design, process design, and more in both academic and industrial settings. We also share our experience from teaching the Axiomatic Design theory to students at universities and engineers in industry, and draw conclusions on how best to teach and use this approach, and what results one can expect. The merits of the design axioms are discussed based on the practical experiences that the authors have had in their application. The process developed around the axioms to derive maximum value (solution neutral environment, design domains, what-how relationship, zig-zag process, decomposition, and design matrices) is also discussed and some updates are proposed.

scholarly journals Intelligent Design of Product Forms Based on Design Cognitive Dynamics and a Cobweb Structure

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Wenjin Yang ◽  
Jian-Ning Su ◽  
Shutao Zhang ◽  
Kai Qiu ◽  
Xinxin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Intelligent Design ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Information Source ◽  
Dynamic Mechanism ◽  
Cognitive Dynamics ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Product Image ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Product Forms

Design is a complex, iterative, and innovative process. By traditional methods, it is difficult for designers to have an integral priori design experience to fully explore a wide range of design solutions. Therefore, refined intelligent design has become an important trend in design research. More powerful design thinking is needed in intelligent design process. Combining cognitive dynamics and a cobweb structure, an intelligent design method is proposed to formalize the innovative design process. The excavation of the dynamic mechanism of the product evolution process during product development is necessary to predict next-generation multi-image product forms from a larger design space. First, different design thinking stimulates the information source and is obtained by analyzing the designers’ thinking process when designing and mining the dynamic mechanism behind it. Based on the nonlinear cognitive cobweb process proposed by Francisco and a natural cobweb structure, the product image cognitive cobweb model (PICCM) is constructed. Then, natural cobweb predation behavior is simulated using a stimulus information source to impact the PICCM. This process uses genetic algorithms to obtain numerous offspring forms, and the PICCM’s mechanical properties are the energy loss parameters in the impact information. Furthermore, feasible solutions are selected from intelligent design sketches by the product artificial form evaluation system based on designers’ cognition, and a new product image cognitive cobweb system is reconstructed. Finally, a case study demonstrates the efficiency and feasibility of the proposed approach.

scholarly journals The Design Process for a Birthing Bed: Promoting Improvement in User Satisfaction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiola Cortes_Chavez ◽  
Alberto Rossa-Sierra ◽  
Elvia Luz Gonzalez Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Product Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Medical Devices ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
User Acceptance ◽  
Medical Product ◽  
Patient Needs ◽  
New Process ◽  
Final Design ◽  
Product Design Process

This article presents a comparative analysis of birthing beds, using two different design processes to realize if one improves user satisfaction by improving the design process. We present a comparative study between the traditional product design process (consumer product design) and the new design process based on hierarchies (proposed in this study), which improves the final design and increases user acceptance. The study focuses on pointing out the importance of a new design process for medical devices, which can improve the characteristics of the product design and thereby increase user satisfaction. The main contribution of this new process focuses on showing medical device designers the importance of considering the hierarchy of users around a medical product, considering the fluctuation of the patient's health status since depending on the progression of the disease, the patient needs the attention of various users. In turn, final users need to solve specific problems in each phase, and design needs to be prepared for each user's particular needs around the birthing bed and the patient.

scholarly journals Design Anthropology as Social Design Process

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhan Gregory
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Urban Renewal ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Participatory Design ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Technical Expertise ◽  
Social Design ◽  
Human Centered Design

As professionally trained designers position their practices as central to social change, they bring with them efficiency in process, technical expertise, sophisticated aesthetic skills, and highly scripted narratives. In economically challenged cities like Detroit, creative professionals are hired to help transform neighborhoods that are described as abandoned, disorderly, and “blighted”. Residents of these neighborhoods are increasingly asked to engage in stakeholder meetings and design charrettes that promise greater inclusion and “a voice” in the process. These activities and interventions are sometimes framed as Design Thinking, human-centered design, or participatory design. However, as designer-adapted, re-contextualized anthropological methods, these approaches may ultimately diminish the value and understanding of applied anthropological enquiry. The author argues that design anthropology can offer a deeper, more grounded, and more equitable approach to design and design research processes in contexts of “urban renewal.”  

scholarly journals Modality shift in design process : understanding the rationale behind modality shift and its effect on architectural design

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
A. K. M. Zahidul Islam
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Benefit Design ◽  
Process Understanding ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Final Design ◽  
Modality Shift ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Design Ideas ◽  
Effective Design

Architectural design is a deliberate act of creativity without any definite starting point. Critical analysis of any design process reveals its basic stages. Designers use a number of design and drafting tools as well as their media (modality) to perform these processes. In search of an effective solution, designers often tend to switch between modalities. The purpose of this study is to understand how design students rationalize their modality selection and factors causing modality shifts as well as the impact of these shifts on the design outcome. This study examined different externalization forms of design ideas; identified any deviation from initial design ideas that occurred due to modality shift; analyzed final design outcomes by comparing initial ideas and its follow-through on the basis of their visualization and representation; and finally, looked into correlations between the modality shift and the design outcome. Observation and analysis revealed that students tend to shift between modalities not necessarily for facilitating problem solving only. Individual styles, instructions, requirements, context, culture, competency, ambiguity and cognitive aspects also play a significant role. It was also evident that the amplitude of shift has a positive correlation with designers' experience and accordingly impact on the final design outcome. The result of this study would help to identify reasons and effects of modality shift in design process and thus benefit design pedagogy and practice. By developing effective design methods and processes through meaningful incorporation of traditional and technologically advanced tools, students of the digital age would benefit and enhance their design perception and decision-making.

scholarly journals Characteristics of Design as an Academic and Creative Discipline

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Al Momani Khaled Nabil
Keyword(s):  
Graphic Design ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Industrial Design ◽  
Doctoral Programs ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Practical Research ◽  
Character Design ◽  
Research And Design

This article analyses research related to graphic design in the field of education and gives an overview of multiple definitions given in specialized literature regarding graphic design and design research. Design research provides an important blueprint for many other areas of practical research in contemporary society. The methodology of graphic design is transferable – it can be utilized not only in graphic design as such, but also in other areas, including management, business, and marketing. This process has been facilitated by the development of an academic research base, including doctoral programs. Due to the insufficient number of works on graphic design, it is necessary to venture into the other areas, such as industrial design, architecture, and engineering, which have a larger number of studies in the field of education. To prove that graphic design can affect the educational environment, it is necessary to study the nature of design as project research and design process. Keywords: design, graphic design, education, character design, industrial design, design thinking

scholarly journals Integrating Educational Design Research and Design Thinking to Enable Creative Pedagogies

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Thomas Cochrane ◽  
Joshua Munn
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Educational Design ◽  
Curriculum Redesign ◽  
Educational Design Research ◽  
Design Research Methodology ◽  
Research And Design

This paper explores the interrelationship between educational design research, and design thinking that guides the design stage, enabling the design of authentic collaborative mobile learning environments. As an example the article outlines the design thinking principles and processes that informed the development of wireless mobile presentation systems (MOAs) designed to create a flexible infrastructure to enable the exploration of new pedagogies in different educational contexts. The project used design thinking within an educational design research methodology to provide an in house solution to creating a supporting infrastructure to enable the implementation of a new framework for creative pedagogies and curriculum redesign. The article reflects upon example implementations of using mobile social media and MOAs as a catalyst for implementing our framework for creative pedagogies, and propose collaborative curriculum design principles for integrating the use of mobile social media within new pedagogical paradigms.

scholarly journals Flow. An exploration of the mindsets and behaviours of designers in their creative ecosystem

2020 ◽  
pp. 64-65
Author(s):  
Raul Sarrot
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Environmental Agents ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

How might Designers transcend the barriers to creativity to achieve an ideal state of flow during their Design process? What type of ecosystems and other environmental agents affect their creative mindsets and behaviours during their process? How resilience and mental wellbeing play a role in their work during challenging times? How different cultural environmental backgrounds could play a role in troubleshooting roadblocks for creativity? What are the personal, societal and cultural impacts of recent Covid lockdowns in the Design process and do digital environments affect the ability to sustain a healthy design practice? How having the recent mindset of designing for a globalised world reacts to the reality of being in –and designing from– Aoteroa New Zealand’s safe ‘bubble’? How this new fluid reality could affect the mindset and behaviours of current and future Designers? Tracing parallels between Design education and industry-based practice, Flow is a research project that explores the mindsets and behavious of Designers during their creative process. Particularly, it delves into the Designers’ ecosystems taking into consideration the impact and influence of the different components and the conditions of digital and physical environments both chosen or imposed both in academic world and in industry. Flow goes beyond researching mindsets and behaviours. It also explores what could constitute potential bridges and barriers to creativity and what could ignite or enable positive and productive creative attitudes in Designers. Based on foundational art essays, such as Wassily Kandinsky’s classic ‘Concerning the Spiritual in Art’ and Hundertwasser’s ‘Five Skins’; and blending in points of view of traditional graphic or brand designers (such as Milton Glaser and Michael Bierut) and combining this with Positive Psychology concepts (such as Csikszentmihalyi’s optimal experience) and primary research done specifically by the author, this presentation challenges paradigms and contrasts core design principles and philosophies. It balances the tensions between the individual spark of creativity, the playful serendipity and the ‘inventor’s ligthbulb mindset’ and contrasts it with different creative processes, from the specialist’s apprentice/master craftsmanship model to more contemporary methodologies or techniques such as Design Thinking or Agile and their co-creation, prototyping and iteration modules. This provides the backdrop where mindsets and behaviours and the creativeecosystems are explored. As a piece of research, Flow doesn’t offer final crystalised answers or solutions yet instead poses critical questions and offers an open dialogue with diverse points of view based not only on specific primary and secondary research conducted over the last 5 years by the author yet also feeds from the author’s insights, a designer and academic with 30 years experience of combined practice in academia and industry field-work at a global scale.

scholarly journals Measuring the Impact of Human-Centered Design Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Smith ◽  
Gina Claxton
Keyword(s):  
Health Research ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Human Centered Design ◽  
Participant Engagement ◽  
Survey Response Rate ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The Impact

Background/Objective: Human-centered design (HCD) is an approach to research that aims to facilitate participant engagement in research studies. Research Jam is the Patient Engagement Core of the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (Indiana CTSI) that applies HCD to health research. The objective of this project is to assess the impact and efficacy of the HCD approach in health research. This project follows-up with previous investigators who have completed a project with Research Jam to measure impact on investigators’ attitudes towards HCD and participant engagement as well as the efficacy and implementation of the project-specific tools and deliverables that resulted from the work with Research Jam.  Project Methods: A survey was developed in Qualtrics and sent to investigators (N=34) from Research Jam’s portfolio of completed projects (2015-2020). Five follow-up interviews were conducted and analyzed in NVivo. Results: Survey response rate was 50%. Of the projects listed by the investigators, 89% had deliverables that were reported as feasible and relevant to the target audience. Long-term sustainability of the deliverables showed room for improvement. For all projects, 81% were reported to have helped the investigator learn how to better engage with participants to inform their subsequent research. Potential Impact: These findings demonstrate that HCD produces deliverables that are feasible and relevant to target audiences, and health researchers view HCD as a useful method to engage more directly with research participants. These results can serve as a guide for Research Jam to continue to refine processes, such as improving long-term sustainability of the deliverables, and to direct future projects.

scholarly journals The Impact of Viewing Images of Precedents on the Cognitive Process of Architectural Idea Generation

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-218
Author(s):  
Chahinez Djari ◽  
Abdelmalek Arrouf
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Design Experiment ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Sources

AbstractAmong the increasing number of researches about design thinking, several studies, empirically investigate the report between design process and different sources of inspiration. Visualization of Images represents one of the most current stimuli in the architectural design.This work focuses on the link between the active part of design process and images of precedents when visualized by the designer at the beginning of his design activity. It aims to identify and measure the impact of such visualization on the cognitive process of ideation.We use the protocol analysis method. Data are collected through design experiment and coded by the semio-morphic coding scheme. Results show that the visualization of images of precedents enhances the productivity of the ideation process. The process consistency is also improved by the apearence of homogeneous phases. Moreover the ideation process becomes more creative cognitively, by making the genesis of primitive chains of actions faster, easier and similar.Accordingly, this paper communicate the effect of a common practice such images’ visualization on the architectural design process to get insight on the cognitive befits of this practice.

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