Early-stage engineering design : the designer, the object of design, and design context

Abstract

Much of design research has been focused on developing prescriptive design processes, however, proper description of the designer, the object of design, and the context may be lacking (Dorst, 2007). The present research adds insight concerning these three elements through observation of a creative design course with a diverse student composition. The layout of course was built around six very different early-stage design projects. A technique for characterizing and visualizing design projects and tasks is also introduced and used as a tool for describing the objects of design and project contexts. Collected data carried several important implications. One profound result was that no measure of designer experience was significantly correlated with general performance across all design projects. However, less experienced designers actually seemed to do better at more atypical projects, while experienced designers had the upper hand in solving more traditional problems. No other design-related skills correlated consistently with performance. Designers who were confident, however, tended to learn more and enjoy the projects, their teammates, and the teaching staff more. The results raise many important questions for designers, educators, and employers. The possibility that oft used measures of designer competence fail to accurately indicate capacity undermines current employment and matriculation methods. Educational institutions may consider reassessing the value of their curriculum. Budding designers may also question their approach to gaining design experience.