Computational Models and the Graphic Design Process: An Investigation Into Creativity And How Self-Imposed Conceptual Constraints Can Affect Banal Information

DS 86: Proceedings of The Fourth International Conference on Design Creativity,Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

Year: 2016
Editor: Julie Linsey, Maria Yang, and Yukari Nagai
Author: Philippe, Jean
Series: ICDC
ISBN: 978-1-904670-82-7

Abstract

Through an exploratory approach to design practice, this thesis project examines how conceptual constraints can be used to structure the design process and allow for richer visual interpretations of banal information. More specifically, it explores how three "creative operations” derived from computer modeling (combination, analogy, mutation), as proposed by John S. Gero and Michael A. Rosenman, can be used to liberate information from its structured, restrictive and mass consumed context. These "creative operations" are used as conceptual constraints to disrupt routine processes in design and generate different visual propositions for the interpretation of weather data. This framework for exploration demonstrates how the use of conceptual constraints can contribute to a designer’s practice by stimulating the development of alternative design processes, thereby generating richer visual propositions for a given design problem.

Keywords: Creativity, Design Processes and Methods, Creativity and Computation, Design and Creativity, Education, Design Practice, Tools for Creativity and Design