The use of design representations for design communication : insights from practice

This research aims to reveal the factors which motivate designers to use particular design representations in their communication with different stakeholders. The study describes the types of design representations preferred by designers, why they prefe

The use of design representations for design communication : insights from practice

This research aims to reveal the factors which motivate designers to use particular design representations in their communication with different stakeholders. The study describes the types of design representations preferred by designers, why they prefe

Co-constructing stories : a participatory design technique to elicit in-depth user feedback and suggestions about design concepts

In this paper we introduce a participatory design technique for early, formative concept evaluations to elicit in-depth user feedback and suggestions, revealing attitudes and motivations of users. The technique is motivated by the link between memories, experiences and dreams, and is based on the assumption that users can make better judgments about novel design concepts if they link them to their past experiences. The technique involves user sessions consisting of two main phases, one focusing on recollecting past experiences in related contexts, and one focusing on envisioning future experiences that can be enabled by the use of the concept. In both phases, designer-user dialogue is established through storytelling. Storytelling is used by the designer to set the stage and to present the concept and by the user to communicate his past and anticipated future experiences. The technique results in joint stories about novel concepts. In this paper we explain the technique in detail. We discuss its theoretical background and relation to other user research methods. We share the insights that we gathered through first pilots. The paper concludes with a discussion about the use of this technique in the design process and future research