Abstract
While able to automatically generate and optimise designs for variables provided by a designer, today’s computational design tools do not specialise in the earlier, more tacit tasks such as gathering and sorting disparate information or generating hypotheses and identifying novel directions. This paper presents a review of computational technologies that could potentially play a role in these early stage design activities. Using a framework that deconstructs design activities into underlying tasks, an ontology that reviews the various computational tools that could be applied in these activities was created. Computational technologies such as neural networks and stochastic algorithms were found to provide features that could potentially allow for discovering and linking new information together in order to provoke the – often unexpected – inspiration that can guide designs in the latter phases of development.
Keywords
computational design tools; creativity support; early design process
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2018.456
Citation
Mothersill, P., and Bove, V. (2018) An Ontology of Computational Tools for Design Activities, in Storni, C., Leahy, K., McMahon, M., Lloyd, P. and Bohemia, E. (eds.), Design as a catalyst for change - DRS International Conference 2018, 25-28 June, Limerick, Ireland. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2018.456
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
An Ontology of Computational Tools for Design Activities
While able to automatically generate and optimise designs for variables provided by a designer, today’s computational design tools do not specialise in the earlier, more tacit tasks such as gathering and sorting disparate information or generating hypotheses and identifying novel directions. This paper presents a review of computational technologies that could potentially play a role in these early stage design activities. Using a framework that deconstructs design activities into underlying tasks, an ontology that reviews the various computational tools that could be applied in these activities was created. Computational technologies such as neural networks and stochastic algorithms were found to provide features that could potentially allow for discovering and linking new information together in order to provoke the – often unexpected – inspiration that can guide designs in the latter phases of development.