How do sketching and non-sketching actions convey design intent?

Conference paper (2018)

Authors

R.S.K. Chandrasegaran University of California
Devarajan Ramanujan Aarhus University
Niklas Elmqvist University of Maryland
Affiliation
External organisation
Sketching Observational study Ideation
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Published Date

2018

Language

English

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Affiliation

External organisation

Abstract

Sketches are much more than marks on paper; they play a key role for designers both in ideation and problem-solving as well as in communication with other designers. Thus, the act of sketching is often enriched with annotations, references, and physical actions, such as gestures or speech - all of which constitute meta-data about the designer's reasoning. Conventional paper-based design notebooks cannot capture this rich meta-data, but digital design notebooks can. To understand what data to capture, we conducted an observational study of design practitioners where they individually explore design solutions for a set of problems. We identified sketching and non-sketching actions that reflect their exploration of the design space. We then categorized the captured meta-data and mapped observed physical actions to design intent. These findings inform the creation of future digital design notebooks that can better capture designers' reasoning during sketching.