Abstract
Prototyping is a crucial element of the design activity. Prototypes serve as temporary and incomplete embodiments of design ideas with which designers explore the design problem as well as propose and refine possible solutions to the problem. Given its deep connection to solutions, prototyping has been typically associated with the later stages of design. A stage in which the problem has been sufficiently mapped that a solution can be proposed and refined based on the discovery of requirements. Yet the question of what it means to prototype for problem exploration remains. To provide an answer to this question, first we take a quick look at what the role of prototypes is in design and more specifically what their role might be in the early stages of design. And later we discuss from the perspective of the reflective conversation that the designer has with the artifact it has created and what we reflect on when dealing with problem exploration. Subsequently some illustrative examples are presented of unintentional problem exploration prototyping from student design projects. To conclude, a reflection of the importance of design education in preparing practitioners to better deal with different types of prototyping beyond solution refinement.
Keywords
Problem-space; early design; problem-oriented prototyping; design education; prototype
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2023.140
Citation
Ruiz, J.,and Wever, R.(2023) What is Your (Freaking) Problem? Prototypes for problem exploration on early stages of design, in Silvia Ferraris, Valentina Rognoli, Nithikul Nimkulrat (eds.), EKSIG 2023: From Abstractness to Concreteness – experiential knowledge and the role of prototypes in design research, 19–20 June 2023, Milan, Italy. https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2023.140
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
What is Your (Freaking) Problem? Prototypes for problem exploration on early stages of design
Prototyping is a crucial element of the design activity. Prototypes serve as temporary and incomplete embodiments of design ideas with which designers explore the design problem as well as propose and refine possible solutions to the problem. Given its deep connection to solutions, prototyping has been typically associated with the later stages of design. A stage in which the problem has been sufficiently mapped that a solution can be proposed and refined based on the discovery of requirements. Yet the question of what it means to prototype for problem exploration remains. To provide an answer to this question, first we take a quick look at what the role of prototypes is in design and more specifically what their role might be in the early stages of design. And later we discuss from the perspective of the reflective conversation that the designer has with the artifact it has created and what we reflect on when dealing with problem exploration. Subsequently some illustrative examples are presented of unintentional problem exploration prototyping from student design projects. To conclude, a reflection of the importance of design education in preparing practitioners to better deal with different types of prototyping beyond solution refinement.