Designing AI systems

Traditionally, the AI field has focused on providing answers in domains like chess, translation, protein folding, and item recommendations. These AI systems have a clear objectives and outcomes that can be easily classified as correct or incorrect. However, once such systems face the complexity of social contexts, they start to produce...

Method in their madness: Explaining how designers think and act through the cognitive co-evolution model

Designers often face situations where the only way forward is through the exploration of possibilities. However, there is a critical disconnect between understanding of how designer's think and act in such situations. We address this disconnect by proposing and testing (via protocol analysis) the cognitive co-evolution model. Our model...

Use of Language to Generate Architectural Scenery with AI-Powered Tools

The quality of communication with a computer impacts how the designer performs during the design process. Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) empowers the designer by expanding the solution space using the expertise from previous knowledge. However, the developments in AI-powered design tools mainly focus on visual and spatial enhancements....

The generative dance of design inquiry: Exploring Dewey's pragmatism for design research

In design research, the activities of design and research coalesce. It introduces thorny epistemological challenges and Dewey's pattern of inquiry is explored for its relevance for design research. First, a logical framework for design inquiry is developed that enables to reach warranted conclusions, retrospectively. Second, a temporal...

The life cycle of creative ideas: Towards a dual-process theory of ideation

Ideation is simultaneously one of the most investigated and most intriguing aspects of design. The reasons for this attention are partly due to its importance in design and innovation, and partly due to an array of conflicting results and explanations. In this study, we develop an integrative perspective on individual ideation by combining...

Supporting human-centered design in psychologically distant problem domains: The design for cybersecurity cards

Increasingly digital products and services make cybersecurity a crucial issue for designers. However, human-centered designers struggle to consider it in their work, partially a consequence of the high psychological distance between designers and cybersecurity. In this work, we build on the Design for Cybersecurity (DfC) Cards, an...

Exploring Design Cognition in Voice-Driven Sound Sketching and Synthesis

Conceptual design and communication of sonic ideas are critical, and still unresolved aspects of current sound design practices, especially when teamwork is involved. Design cognition studies in the visual domain represent a valuable resource to look at, to better comprehend the reasoning of designers when they approach a sound-based project....

Metaphorical and Analogical Thinking in Urban Design and Planning

Metaphorical and analogical thinking is a major aspect of how human intelligence tackles complex tasks in the discipline of urban design and planning. However, there is little research on this subject within urban design and planning, and the research approaches in closely related design disciplines lack a comprehensive view on its presence and...

Quest for Efficiency: Examining Cognitive Processes Underlying the Use of 3D Modeling Tools

In this paper we examine the strategies used in 3D modeling for their efficiency. Our study explores the underlying cognitive process that drives design thinking as well the choice of strategies for using specific features in a given CAD software. We take a cognitive task analysis approach to examine our question. Of a total sample of 19...