Assessing Early Stage Design Sketches and Reflections on Prototyping
Name
v006t06a004-detc2021-66748.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.25 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
918839b58e64edec9c78dba4a2268178
Author(s)
Das, Madhurima
Yang, Maria C
Date Issued
August 17, 2021
Journal
Volume 6: 33rd International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology (DTM)
Publisher
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Citation
Das, Madhurima and Yang, Maria C. 2021. "Assessing Early Stage Design Sketches and Reflections on Prototyping." Volume 6: 33rd International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology (DTM).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Abstract
Designers routinely create informal “thinking” sketches to explore a design space and “talking” sketches to communicate design ideas during the early phases of the design process. This study proposes a rubric for assessing the quality of novice designers’ early stage design sketches including line smoothness, proportion, and understandability. The study finds a positive correlation between sketch quality and understandability, which indicates the importance of sketch quality when using sketches as a communication tool. Results indicate that early stage sketch quantity is linked with design outcomes, though sketch quality does not have a strong correlation with design outcomes. The study also finds a link between frequency of sketching and having higher maximum sketch quality scores (i.e. at least one excellent sketch) as well as a correlation between individuals’ maximum sketch quality scores and their overall design outcomes. This study presents a new tool to capture what is learned by the designer after each iteration of a prototype. Preliminary results indicate that reflection on both the technical and emotional aspects of prototyping may be valuable and should be an area of further study. Finally, several results point to novice designers’ lack of consistent focus on users in their prototyping reflections and presentations.
Designers routinely create informal “thinking” sketches to explore a design space and “talking” sketches to communicate design ideas during the early phases of the design process. This study proposes a rubric for assessing the quality of novice designers’ early stage design sketches including line smoothness, proportion, and understandability. The study finds a positive correlation between sketch quality and understandability, which indicates the importance of sketch quality when using sketches as a communication tool. Results indicate that early stage sketch quantity is linked with design outcomes, though sketch quality does not have a strong correlation with design outcomes. The study also finds a link between frequency of sketching and having higher maximum sketch quality scores (i.e. at least one excellent sketch) as well as a correlation between individuals’ maximum sketch quality scores and their overall design outcomes. This study presents a new tool to capture what is learned by the designer after each iteration of a prototype. Preliminary results indicate that reflection on both the technical and emotional aspects of prototyping may be valuable and should be an area of further study. Finally, several results point to novice designers’ lack of consistent focus on users in their prototyping reflections and presentations.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1115/detc2021-66748
