Concept development for vehicle design education projects carried out in collaboration with industry

This paper describes the concept development process of three vehicle design team projects carried out in successive years in our fourth year undergraduate studio course, in collaboration with industry. The problem areas for all three projects were unfamiliar to student teams, and our collaboration required close involvement of the firms, for their technical expertise and design feedback. Our framework and strategies for this process involved: user research conducted in the field; group discussions for analyzing the operations carried out by the users and mapping their relation to the functions of the related hardware; scenario building for describing the context within an activity based time-related process and searching for solutions at the same time; the generation of numerous ideas through the matching of alternative scenarios with the project dimensions; convergence of these ideas into alternative design proposals; and decision-making on the final project concepts. User research extended throughout the concept development process, supported with an intense 3D exploration and with class assignments that encouraged goal-oriented teamwork. Although we followed a similar design process in all three projects, the strategies used in the various stages were modified depending on the requirements of each project, and regarding the differences in the vehicle types involved, the users and the tasks. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V

Publications of METU Faculty of Architecture - 2017

Publisher's Versio

Design Divergence Using the Morphological Chart

This paper presents the findings of a review carried out on twelve morphological charts completed in groups, containing a total of 686 sub-solution sketches made for a pool of 21 sub-functions. The charts were reviewed as a whole in terms of group performance in idea generation for a decomposed design problem. Then the ideas generated as sub-solutions were grouped according to sub-functions and were reviewed in terms of idea content and effort in design divergence. It was seen that a background preparation with product trials, 3D component analyses and experience in using the morphological chart method affected the number of cells that the participants completed, as well as the ways in which they filled in the morphological chart. The reviews revealed eleven factors affecting design divergence using the morphological chart method, grouping under the headings of: preparations, group dynamics, boundaries of sub-functions, and analysis of components. Besides, thirteen strategies were identified that participants followed for design divergence using the morphological chart, grouping under the headings of: beginning idea generation, effective idea generation, exploring ideas, diversifying ideas and representing ideas

Visual Thinking Styles and Idea Generation Strategies Employed in Visual Brainstorming Sessions

This paper presents the findings of visual analyses conducted on 369 sketch ideas generated in three 6-3-5 visual brainstorming sessions by a total of 25 participants, following the same design brief. The motivation for the study was an interest in the thematic content of the ideas generated as groups, and the individual representation styles used for the sketches. The analyses revealed the determinants of individual visual thinking styles as: idea types, sketching patterns, sketching styles, annotation styles, and performances in producing design solutions. The idea generation strategies of the participants were: using analogies, diversifying the design solutions, determining the usage context, and working with themes. The effects of group dynamics on the performances of the participants were: management of the idea generation effort, reflections of the idea contents explored within groups, and reflections of the representation styles of peers. The paper finally identifies four profiles of idea generators and discusses the implications of the findings

Endüstri Ürünleri Tasarımı ve Ürün Geliştirme Süreci

Özellikle Endüstri ürünleri tasarımı bölümüne yeni başlamış öğrencilerin kafalarında soru işareti olabilen sorulardan bazıları bunlar. Bu sorunun kesin olarak bir cevabı bulunmaması ile birlikte bu konuda uygulanan farklı metotlar bulunuyor ve her gün bu metotlara bir yenisi ekleniyor. Bu yazımız da temel tasarım prensipleri çerçevesinde bir ürün nasıl geliştirilir, geliştirilirken hangi aşamalardan geçer, nelere dikkat etmek ve bu aşama da nasıl düşünmemiz gerektiği konusuna değinmeye çalıştık ve toplam 10 aşamadan oluşan bir süreç ortaya çıkardık, tasarlanan ürüne göre bu süreç azalabilir veya çoğalabilir. Faydalı olması dileğiyle

Design as a Collaborative Process A Systematic and Constructive Model for Developing Play Material for Blind Visually Impaired Preschool Children

This paper discusses a design process lived through, during the application of a model derived from design methodology and devised towards attaining a particular task. The task was: Designing a play system to contribute to the pre-school blind child’s development of object permanence, sense of self, and spatial concepts. The model employed was based on a systematic and constructive framework towards ensuring consciously made decisions. The paper also discusses the field-testing in play situations of the system that was the outcome of this model. The model was illustrative of the fact that, design, a creative act in itself, is simultaneously a collaborative process involving the methods, strategies and knowledge of interdisciplinary network