Personal context-specific experience can affect how a designer evaluates a design problem and proposes solutions. However, this effect was seldom discovered in a quantitative manner in problem-solving design tasks. This paper uses empirical evidence and quantitative methods to show the effects of novice designers' contextual experience on design tasks, particularly as it relates to the design process and design outcomes. Thirty-three people performed two design tasks while their cognitive states were assessed using electroencephalography (EEG). Moreover, the objective ratings (i.e., quantity, novelty and quality) from prospective users were analyzed to gauge the effect of contextual experience on design outcomes. Results suggest that during ideation, contextual experience has a negative effect on mental states associated with creativity and also on the novelty evaluations of the proposed solutions in the tested design tasks. This research advances the development of design methods for novice designers.
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October 2018
Research-Article
The Effects of Designers' Contextual Experience on the Ideation Process and Design Outcomes
Tahira Reid
Tahira Reid
School of Mechanical Engineering,
Purdue University,
West Lafayette, IN 47907
e-mail: tahira@purdue.edu
Purdue University,
West Lafayette, IN 47907
e-mail: tahira@purdue.edu
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Wan-Lin Hu
Tahira Reid
School of Mechanical Engineering,
Purdue University,
West Lafayette, IN 47907
e-mail: tahira@purdue.edu
Purdue University,
West Lafayette, IN 47907
e-mail: tahira@purdue.edu
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Design Theory and Methodology Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL DESIGN. Manuscript received October 30, 2017; final manuscript received June 6, 2018; published online July 30, 2018. Assoc. Editor: Harrison M. Kim.
J. Mech. Des. Oct 2018, 140(10): 101101 (11 pages)
Published Online: July 30, 2018
Article history
Received:
October 30, 2017
Revised:
June 6, 2018
Citation
Hu, W., and Reid, T. (July 30, 2018). "The Effects of Designers' Contextual Experience on the Ideation Process and Design Outcomes." ASME. J. Mech. Des. October 2018; 140(10): 101101. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4040625
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