Inventive Interventions in
Mental Imagery - Design Process
in a Different Perspective
Abstract:
This paper explores the role that visualisation and mental imagery play in solving design problems.
Imagery is a mental experience and is perhaps an ideal tool to synergically work in consonance with the thought process. The spontaneity, non-linear nature, depictive qualities and the possibilities of voluntary control in mental imagery as opposed to sketching point to the enormous potential of imagery in development of ideas.
Designers invent design issues and requirements situated in the environment in which they design.
The questions arise:
a) How do designers create spatial relationships when deprived of the conventional method of sketching?
b) What is the nature of this experience in solving the design problem?
c) When deprived of sketching how does the designer perceive that environment which he is designing?
d) In this perceived environment how does he make spatial decisions?
Introduction to the research:
The role of visualisation and mental imaging during the early creative phase in the design problem solving has already been established in previous papers (Athavankar U A, Singh A, Hiremath M). However these deal with one subject only. Besides these papers do not seperate goal setting as a distinct cognitive action from other solution directed actions and moves.
The experiment reported in this paper attempts to ascertain the same for a larger number of subjects.
This paper confirms a number of earlier findings. The subjects had no difficulty completing the design task in spite of the eye-mask. They substituted gestures to complement their spatial thinking. However, the new findings that the current experiments conducted throw up, are far more interesting.
A critical look at the protocols as well as the post experiment comments suggest that the subjects were immersed in the 'mental' spatial experience they created. They operated and manipulated their mental creations as if they were standing or moving around on the virtual site.
Protocols show their ability to set-up new 'goals' as the design ideas started unfolding. This goal setting does appear to be a result of 'moves and reflections'. In fact, new goals seem to become explicit during and as a reaction to the subjects' reflections. The process of setting up innovative goals is what seems to give their design a unique character. This process resembles the 'S' inventions that Suwa et. al. talk about.
Interestingly a number of design decisions of the architects were influenced by 'goals' they 'set up' early on in the experiment. At times there appeared to be a synergic relationship between 'words' (used in the brief) and mental images, in the subjects' process of trying to build a 'notion' which subsequently became a central idea in the design process. Some decisions were a result of their recalling of similar spatial experiences and visualizing images of similar environments that they currently lived in or had designed in their recent professional life. Others initially seemed to have been 'unsupported', but later showed signs of a connection with the above.
This paper explores the role that visualisation and mental imagery play in solving design problems.
Imagery is a mental experience and is perhaps an ideal tool to synergically work in consonance with the thought process. The spontaneity, non-linear nature, depictive qualities and the possibilities of voluntary control in mental imagery as opposed to sketching point to the enormous potential of imagery in development of ideas.
Designers invent design issues and requirements situated in the environment in which they design.
The questions arise:
a) How do designers create spatial relationships when deprived of the conventional method of sketching?
b) What is the nature of this experience in solving the design problem?
c) When deprived of sketching how does the designer perceive that environment which he is designing?
d) In this perceived environment how does he make spatial decisions?
Introduction to the research:
The role of visualisation and mental imaging during the early creative phase in the design problem solving has already been established in previous papers (Athavankar U A, Singh A, Hiremath M). However these deal with one subject only. Besides these papers do not seperate goal setting as a distinct cognitive action from other solution directed actions and moves.
The experiment reported in this paper attempts to ascertain the same for a larger number of subjects.
This paper confirms a number of earlier findings. The subjects had no difficulty completing the design task in spite of the eye-mask. They substituted gestures to complement their spatial thinking. However, the new findings that the current experiments conducted throw up, are far more interesting.
A critical look at the protocols as well as the post experiment comments suggest that the subjects were immersed in the 'mental' spatial experience they created. They operated and manipulated their mental creations as if they were standing or moving around on the virtual site.
Protocols show their ability to set-up new 'goals' as the design ideas started unfolding. This goal setting does appear to be a result of 'moves and reflections'. In fact, new goals seem to become explicit during and as a reaction to the subjects' reflections. The process of setting up innovative goals is what seems to give their design a unique character. This process resembles the 'S' inventions that Suwa et. al. talk about.
Interestingly a number of design decisions of the architects were influenced by 'goals' they 'set up' early on in the experiment. At times there appeared to be a synergic relationship between 'words' (used in the brief) and mental images, in the subjects' process of trying to build a 'notion' which subsequently became a central idea in the design process. Some decisions were a result of their recalling of similar spatial experiences and visualizing images of similar environments that they currently lived in or had designed in their recent professional life. Others initially seemed to have been 'unsupported', but later showed signs of a connection with the above.
The paper will present a complete analysis of protocols of a total of 3 architects as subjects, compare their imagery experiences and the unique strategies developed to take visuo-spatial decisions. (This report presents analysis of 2 subjects). It will also put these results in the context of the current work on mental imagery. The paper hopes to reveal the so far overlooked role that mental imagery plays in design thinking.
Focus of this research paper:
a) This paper reveals the subjects' ability to set up goals as the design process unfolds (Suwa et al 2000). These goals become explicit during and as a reaction to the subjects' reflections. The research attempts to understand the relationship between the creative process of the designer and the goal setting process, which ultimately lead to the gradual development of an idea. We present an insight into this path that the designer takes to arrive at a solution that first started as an abstract notion.
b) It also ascertains the role that mental imagery plays in this goal setting process as well as in the subjects' design decisions. It was found that at times imagery led to new goals and subsequent design decisions, and at other times, the goal setting led to imagery.
c) The current paper compares results of the experiments on a number of architects and attempts to bring out individual differences in the subjects' design processes, pertaining to the setting up of goals and taking design decisions.
My role and responsibilities:
Me and another design student worked on this project under the guidance of Professor Athavankar during our masters course at Industrial Design Center, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 2000-2001. We were in charge of conducting the experiments along with the Professor and transcribing the interviews entirely by reviewing the verbal protocol. Further the Professor involved us in the Analysis phase as well and gathered our insights and ideas for the paper.
I had the good fortune to assist the Professor to some extent in the paper editing, although, quite understandably he wrote the entire paper himself as we were students and quite clueless about paper writing. In addition, I planned and designed the whole presentation for the conference and presented it at the Asian Design Conference (ADC) at Seoul, South Korea in 2001. Needless to say it was an amazing learning experience to work on this project with Prof Athavankar. I matured in my thought process and learnt to analyse data/information to form meaningful insights.
Focus of this research paper:
a) This paper reveals the subjects' ability to set up goals as the design process unfolds (Suwa et al 2000). These goals become explicit during and as a reaction to the subjects' reflections. The research attempts to understand the relationship between the creative process of the designer and the goal setting process, which ultimately lead to the gradual development of an idea. We present an insight into this path that the designer takes to arrive at a solution that first started as an abstract notion.
b) It also ascertains the role that mental imagery plays in this goal setting process as well as in the subjects' design decisions. It was found that at times imagery led to new goals and subsequent design decisions, and at other times, the goal setting led to imagery.
c) The current paper compares results of the experiments on a number of architects and attempts to bring out individual differences in the subjects' design processes, pertaining to the setting up of goals and taking design decisions.
My role and responsibilities:
Me and another design student worked on this project under the guidance of Professor Athavankar during our masters course at Industrial Design Center, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 2000-2001. We were in charge of conducting the experiments along with the Professor and transcribing the interviews entirely by reviewing the verbal protocol. Further the Professor involved us in the Analysis phase as well and gathered our insights and ideas for the paper.
I had the good fortune to assist the Professor to some extent in the paper editing, although, quite understandably he wrote the entire paper himself as we were students and quite clueless about paper writing. In addition, I planned and designed the whole presentation for the conference and presented it at the Asian Design Conference (ADC) at Seoul, South Korea in 2001. Needless to say it was an amazing learning experience to work on this project with Prof Athavankar. I matured in my thought process and learnt to analyse data/information to form meaningful insights.
Please note: Click here to see full presentation, presented at the Asian Design Conference, Seoul, South Korea, 2001.
Please click here to read full paper.
