Exploring the Effectiveness of Providing Structured DfE Design Strategies During Conceptual Design

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donovan Ross ◽  
Vincenzo Ferrero ◽  
Bryony DuPont
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Specific Design ◽  
Solution Quality ◽  
Design For The Environment

Abstract The fuzzy front end of engineering design can present a difficult challenge, and as such, recent engineering design research has focused on guiding and influencing the way a designer ideates. Early ideation can be especially difficult when attempting to integrate specific design objectives in product design, called Design for X (DfX). Some examples of DfX are Design for Manufacturing (DfM), Design for Assembly (DfA), Design for Function (DfF), and Design for Safety (DfS). This paper will present two experiments exploring the efficacy of a structured Design for the Environment (DfE) design method called the GREEn Quiz (Guidelines and Regulations for Early design for the Environment) that provides designers with sustainable design knowledge during the conceptual design phase. The GREEn Quiz operates on a web-based platform and queries the designer about their design concepts; an end-of-quiz report provides abstract DfE knowledge to designers. While this abstract knowledge was able to be applied by designers in a former study, we hypothesize that providing targeted, specific design strategies during conceptual design may enable better integration in concept generation by novice designers. In this study, we created these DfE strategies, embedded these in the GREEn Quiz, and studied the efficacy of these strategies when presented to designers at both the expert and novice levels. Experimental results suggest that respondents with access to the strategy-based GREEn Quiz produced concepts with evidence of more sustainable design decisions and higher solution quality scores when compared to previous respondents and the control groups. This research encourages the consideration of downstream environmental impact knowledge during conceptual design, resulting in lower-impact products regardless of the previous DfE expertise of the designer.

Exploring the Effectiveness of Providing Structured Design-for-the-Environment Strategies During Conceptual Design

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Donovan Ross ◽  
Vincenzo Ferrero ◽  
Bryony DuPont
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Specific Design ◽  
Solution Quality ◽  
Structured Design ◽  
Design For The Environment

Abstract The fuzzy front end of engineering design can present a difficult challenge, and as such, recent engineering design research has focused on guiding and influencing the way a designer ideates. Early ideation can be especially difficult when attempting to integrate specific design objectives in product design, called Design for X (DfX). This paper presents two experiments exploring the efficacy of a structured Design for the Environment (DfE) design method called the GREEn Quiz (Guidelines and Regulations for Early design for the Environment) that provides designers with sustainable design knowledge during the conceptual design phase. The GREEn Quiz operates on a web-based platform and queries the designer about their design concepts; an end-of-quiz report provides abstract DfE knowledge to designers. While this abstract knowledge was able to be applied by designers in a former study, we hypothesize that providing targeted, specific design strategies during conceptual design will enable novice designers to better integrate DfE. In this study, we created these DfE strategies, integrated these into the GREEn Quiz, and studied the efficacy of these strategies when presented to designers at both the expert and novice levels. Results suggest that respondents with access to the strategy-based GREEn Quiz produced concepts with evidence of more sustainable design decisions and higher solution quality scores. This work shows the promise of supplemental Design for the Environment methods for concept generation to enable the design of more environmentally sustainable products.

scholarly journals A SURVEY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAITS BEHIND LEARNING TO DESIGN: NOVICES AS DORMANT EXPERT DESIGNERS

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Gress ◽  
S. Li
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Psychological Traits ◽  
Environmental Interactions ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
And Coping

With their increasing emphasis on the importance of hands-on practice and gaining experience, the fields of engineering-design research and education appear to be entering a human-focused transition other fields like economics and decision making have emerged from in the recent past. In addition to the original, modernism-rooted desire for a rational science of design modelled on the natural sciences, this delay may be due the inherently strong association of engineering with science – i.e., ‘applied science.’ This research investigated whether there may instead be a science to the human involvement in design, of the human behaviours that often appear in actual engineering design practice. It surveyed published empirical studies in psychology, child development and other social and life sciences – as well as those within design research itself. Of particular interest were the designer behaviours and activities which did not follow the prescriptions of – or were prescribed against by – the traditional, rational-design methods: visualization, single-solution conjecturing, and intuition. Results from this survey showed comprehensively that environmental interactions and authentic design experiences activate latent design abilities and coping mechanisms that may be difficult to obtain otherwise. Without such interaction and the gaining of experience there can be no designing, so essentially design is a wholly human phenomenon. Rather than follow the rational-design method and prescribe against these design-enabling behaviours, then, it appears that a better pedagogical approach is to allow them to develop and mature – and let design novices become the experts they were meant to be.

scholarly journals Micro-Living: Learning to Live Large in Small Spaces

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Simon Richmond
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Design Method ◽  
High Density ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Spatial Design ◽  
The Future ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Living Environments

<p>High-density living has always been proclaimed as a way of the future, but the future is now here and we are plagued by inadequate, uninviting city-living environments. This design research paper aims to produce an alternate design method that can be applied to apartment living in New Zealand to produce positive, affordable apartment designs.  The late 20th and early 21st centuries has seen urban New Zealand become an increasingly popular place to live. Large numbers are drawn to the cities by the convenience of closer proximity to amenities and greater job prospects. This urbanisation overlaps with the constant growth of the country’s overall population which, combined, puts pressure on cities as land becomes an increasingly rare commodity. In response, cities often expand outward. The negative effect of this has been heavily documented.  The introduction of high density living solutions has attempted to combat the ever increasing ‘suburban sprawl.’ Many apartment complexes have risen in response to this demand, especially in the cities of Auckland and Wellington. However, this is where the problem develops. A large proportion of smaller, more affordable apartments have been identifi ed to be poorly designed, producing low quality spaces and unsatisfactory living environments. Moreover, the public perception of these ‘shoebox’ apartments is highly negative.  This research not only investigates the issues associated with the small apartments in New Zealand but seeks to improve upon them by learning from an international precedent. The Japanese architectural movement of Kyosho-Jutaku or Micro-living provides urban accommodation through space effi cient stand-alone dwellings. These dwellings were developed in response to the harsh urban and economic conditions in the early 1990s and continue to be built throughout Japan’s urban prefectures. The architects of Japanese micro-architecture approach small spaces with design strategies resulting in interiors which appear expansive beyond their physical limits and produce quality living environments. Through the analysis and diagrammatic formulation of these Japanese micro-architecture design strategies, this research aims to produce an applicable technique for ‘micro’ design in New Zealand. The contexts are removed allowing the singular strategies to be understood and manipulated, expanding the design possibilities for each technique. Ultimately, this thesis tests the applicability of planning and spatial design strategies, adapted from Japanese micro-architecture, to a New Zealand context in the development of small, high quality urban apartments.</p>

scholarly journals Micro-Living: Learning to Live Large in Small Spaces

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Simon Richmond
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Design Method ◽  
High Density ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Spatial Design ◽  
The Future ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Living Environments

<p>High-density living has always been proclaimed as a way of the future, but the future is now here and we are plagued by inadequate, uninviting city-living environments. This design research paper aims to produce an alternate design method that can be applied to apartment living in New Zealand to produce positive, affordable apartment designs.  The late 20th and early 21st centuries has seen urban New Zealand become an increasingly popular place to live. Large numbers are drawn to the cities by the convenience of closer proximity to amenities and greater job prospects. This urbanisation overlaps with the constant growth of the country’s overall population which, combined, puts pressure on cities as land becomes an increasingly rare commodity. In response, cities often expand outward. The negative effect of this has been heavily documented.  The introduction of high density living solutions has attempted to combat the ever increasing ‘suburban sprawl.’ Many apartment complexes have risen in response to this demand, especially in the cities of Auckland and Wellington. However, this is where the problem develops. A large proportion of smaller, more affordable apartments have been identifi ed to be poorly designed, producing low quality spaces and unsatisfactory living environments. Moreover, the public perception of these ‘shoebox’ apartments is highly negative.  This research not only investigates the issues associated with the small apartments in New Zealand but seeks to improve upon them by learning from an international precedent. The Japanese architectural movement of Kyosho-Jutaku or Micro-living provides urban accommodation through space effi cient stand-alone dwellings. These dwellings were developed in response to the harsh urban and economic conditions in the early 1990s and continue to be built throughout Japan’s urban prefectures. The architects of Japanese micro-architecture approach small spaces with design strategies resulting in interiors which appear expansive beyond their physical limits and produce quality living environments. Through the analysis and diagrammatic formulation of these Japanese micro-architecture design strategies, this research aims to produce an applicable technique for ‘micro’ design in New Zealand. The contexts are removed allowing the singular strategies to be understood and manipulated, expanding the design possibilities for each technique. Ultimately, this thesis tests the applicability of planning and spatial design strategies, adapted from Japanese micro-architecture, to a New Zealand context in the development of small, high quality urban apartments.</p>

Collaborative Sketching With skWiki: A Case Study

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Senthil Chandrasegaran ◽  
Sriram Karthik Badam ◽  
Zhenpeng Zhao ◽  
Niklas Elmqvist ◽  
Lorraine Kisselburgh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Research Tool ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Computational Tools ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Collaborative Exploration ◽  
Collaborative Sketching

Sketching for conceptual design has traditionally been performed on paper. Recent computational tools for conceptual design have leveraged the availability of hand-held computing devices and web-based collaborative platforms. Further, digital sketching interfaces have the added advantages of storage, duplication, and sharing on the web. We have developed skWiki, a tool that enables collaborative sketching on digital tablets using a web-based framework. We evaluate skWiki in two contexts, (a) as a collaborative ideation tool, and (b) as a design research tool. For this evaluation, we perform a longitudinal study of an undergraduate design team that used skWiki over the course of the concept generation and development phase of their course project. Our analysis of the team’s sketching activity indicated instances of lateral and vertical transformation between participants, indicating collaborative exploration of the breadth and depth of the design space. Using skWiki for this evaluation also demonstrated it to be an effective research tool to investigate such collaborative design processes.

Contrasting Function With Affordance in Design for Additive Manufacturing

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunwoong Ko ◽  
Seung Ki Moon
Keyword(s):  
Additive Manufacturing ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Design Phase ◽  
Conceptual Design Phase ◽  
User Centric ◽  
Design Freedom ◽  
Mass Personalization

Additive Manufacturing (AM)’s advance from rapid prototyping to the end-of-use products inevitably challenges conventional design theories and methodologies. Especially while adopting systematic engineering design methodologies to design for AM (DfAM), it is essential to develop new design methods that explore the new design space enabled by AM’s design freedom from the early design stage. To address the challenge, this study provides a new design framework and a design method for modeling AM-enabled product behaviors in the conceptual design phase of DfAM. Firstly, this study contrasts function-based methods with affordance-based methods. The device-centric, form independent and input/output-based transformative properties of the function-based methods such as function decompositions have strengths in modeling product’s internal behaviors. However, the function-based methods show limitations in the new area of AM-enabled mass personalization which requires design approaches for representing user-centric structural design requirements acquired only by AM’s design freedom. On the other hand, the affordance-based methods can address the function-based methods in DfAM due to their user-centric (artifact-user interactive), form dependent and non-transformative properties. After the contradiction, we propose an affordance-based DfAM framework and an affordance structure as a formal modeling technique for AM-enabled personalized product behaviors. A case study of a trans-tibial prosthesis socket provides an illustration in this study. The contribution of the study is in developing a design method for the conceptual design phase of DfAM that fulfills the objectives of achieving AM-enabled mass personalization with systematic engineering design approaches.

Do Student Trials Predict What Professionals Value in Sustainable Design Practices?

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Faludi ◽  
Felix Yiu ◽  
Ola Srour ◽  
Rami Kamareddine ◽  
Omar Ali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Design Methods ◽  
Value Innovation ◽  
Design Practices ◽  
Real Change ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
System Mapping

When teaching sustainable design in industry or academia, we should teach design methods, activities, and mindsets that are most effective at driving real change in a industry. However, most studies of design practices are performed on students, not on professionals. How strongly do student perceptions of value predict those of industry teams designing real products? This study provided workshops on three sustainable design methods (The Natural Step, Whole System Mapping, and Biomimicry) for 172 professionals and 204 students, applying the methods to their actual products being developed. It surveyed both populations about which activities or mindsets within each design method provided sustainability value, innovation value, and overall value. Quantitatively, student results did not strongly predict professional opinions; professionals chose clearer favorites and valued more things. However, qualitatively, student results did predict the reasons why professionals would value the design activities and mindsets. Therefore, care should be taken to choose appropriate participants for the questions being asked in sustainable design research.

scholarly journals Protobooth: gathering and analyzing data on prototyping in early-stage engineering design projects by digitally capturing physical prototypes

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Jorgen F. Erichsen ◽  
Heikki Sjöman ◽  
Martin Steinert ◽  
Torgeir Welo
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Research Tool ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
New Research

Abstract Aiming to help researchers capture output from the early stages of engineering design projects, this article presents a new research tool for digitally capturing physical prototypes. The motivation for this work is to collect observations that can aid in understanding prototyping in the early stages of engineering design projects, and this article investigates if and how digital capture of physical prototypes can be used for this purpose. Early-stage prototypes are usually rough and of low fidelity and are thus often discarded or substantially modified through the projects. Hence, retrospective access to prototypes is a challenge when trying to gather accurate empirical data. To capture the prototypes developed through the early stages of a project, a new research tool has been developed for capturing prototypes through multi-view images, along with metadata describing by whom, why, when, and where the prototypes were captured. Over the course of 17 months, this research tool has been used to capture more than 800 physical prototypes from 76 individual users across many projects. In this article, one project is shown in detail to demonstrate how this capturing system can gather empirical data for enriching engineering design project cases that focus on prototyping for concept generation. The authors also analyze the metadata provided by the system to give understanding into prototyping patterns in the projects. Lastly, through enabling digital capture of large quantities of data, the research tool presents the foundations for training artificial intelligence-based predictors and classifiers that can be used for analysis in engineering design research.

Evaluating consumer commonality leveraging consumer specific design information

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 474-487
Author(s):  
Phillip Cormier ◽  
Kemper Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Design Method ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Personal Knowledge ◽  
Complete Understanding ◽  
Specific Design ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractWhen developing a product, designers must decide what consumer variation will be addressed and how they will address it, because each consumer has a unique set of human factors, preferences, personal knowledge, and solution constraints. Numerous design methodologies exist to support the design of a product or set of products that address this consumer variation. However, currently there is little work supporting the selection of a design methodology, resulting in an ad hoc or a priori decision before conceptual design begins. This paper presents an affordance-based design method for use prior to conceptual design to help designers understand the consumer variation that is present. This facilitates the creation of a product or set of products that meets the demands of both the consumer(s) and the organization that is developing the product. Once consumer variation is understood, conceptual design can be performed with a more complete understanding of the overall problem.

Biomimetic Concept Generation Applied to Design for Remanufacture

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Hacco ◽  
L. H. Shu
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Biological Phenomenon ◽  
Biomimetic Design ◽  
Generation Technique ◽  
Modified Method ◽  
Engineering Problems ◽  
Design For Remanufacture ◽  
Initial Method

This paper applies a biomimetic design method to generate concepts for design that facilitates remanufacture. Biomimetic design fully or partially imitates or evokes some biological phenomenon. A method for identifying and using biological analogies for engineering problems was introduced in an earlier paper. This initial method was tested on an example in design for remanufacture. Here, the method is further developed and used to find more biomimetic solutions for the same problem in design for remanufacture. While the example problem is in remanufacture, the method can be used to develop biomimetic concepts for engineering design in general. The paper first summarizes previous efforts in developing and testing the biomimetic concept generation technique. Next described are the differences in the method that are used for this paper, including the increased importance of strategies to help identify promising analogies. Results of applying the modified method to design for remanufacture are documented.

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