Computer tools in ideation process among Universiti Teknologi Malaysia industrial design students

Abstract

Design students usually sketch their ideas manually during the ideation process. In the process of generating newly formed ideas and cognitive activities, design students sketch out their initial ideas at feasibility stage. Computer tools were introduced to design students in assisting the ideation process as well, for example, Adobe Photoshop which has enable students to create their initial ideas. However, there are advantages and disadvantages of introducing computer tools to design students. This has triggered the need to study the identification of Adobe Photoshop’s capability in assisting cognitive activities and generating ideas within the feasibility stage. This study identifies how computer tool influences design students in practicing feasibility study during ideation process. First year students of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Industrial Design were selected to participate in two idea generation experiment sessions, which are the manual hand sketch and computer generated sketch by using Adobe Photoshop. Hand sketches and computer generated sketches produced in the sessions were collected and analyzed using Torrance Cognitive Elements of Design Creativity and Visual Reasoning Model. Torrance Cognitive Elements of Design Creativity method is chosen to evaluate the diversifying ideas by the students. The evaluation was based on fluency, flexibility and originality. However, the study showed that Adobe Photoshop did not encourage convergence of ideas, which related to elaboration and problem sensitivity at feasibility stage. The same result obtained in the Visual Reasoning Model analysis also showed that Adobe Photoshop did not encourage iterative movements of transformation and generation component in the convergence of ideas. On the other hand, the research findings also indicated that 2D software like Adobe Photoshop has encouraged students to diversify their ideas. Other computer tools might be needed to perform a comprehensive convergence of ideas in feasibility stage