Capturing creative behaviours in computer aided designing using design diaries

Abstract

Designing often involves uncertain period of times before arriving at its attainment. In the context of research, an appropriate longitudinal data collection method is vital in facilitating data gathering activities such as a design diary. This article reports a study which aimed to identify and capture creative behaviours based on a Creative Behaviours Framework whilst designing using Computer Aided Design (CAD). A design diary was used to facilitate participants in recording creative behaviours occurrences when they were using CAD for designing. This method enabled the researcher to obtain information from participants' CAD design activities throughout the design project phase. This study involved three participants who were postgraduate students of Industrial Design and Technology, Loughborough University. The participants were invited and recruited based on two factors: they had a CAD background and had the intention of using CAD in their final year undergraduate design project. Combination of a structured and open format diary were used as the data collection and in this study known as the design diary. The data were analysed by identifying the frequency of each creative behaviour was reported by the participant. From the analysis it was found that 125 creative behaviours descriptors were recorded. The findings also suggested that CAD potentially encouraged creative behaviours amongst its users.