There have been numerous attempts to. define a design process. A possible way of approaching any problem is to break it down into 4 distinct areas of ANALYSIS, RESEARCH, EVALUATION and SOLUTION.
Analysis What is the problem / brief/ question about? What do I need to know more about? What already exists? What are the specifications, materials, functions, client preferences that are a fixed part of the brief? (Do not attempt to invent solutions at this stage, just background information and parameters.)
Research How many ideas occur in response to your analysis? Ask yourself "What happens if ......?" Use lateral thinking & word association to spur originality Find the extremes (simplest to over-the-top / bizarre) Use mechanicaltrial and error eg. mock-ups to find how & where to ioin bits together. Try out likely materials & find their limitations Go for lots of fast possibilities rather than one precious solution. Be prepared to go back to "Analysis".
Evaluation Which fulfils the brief? Which looks the best? ... but which does the client prefer? ,How does it fit the current ethos/design trends/ match the competition? U p-market, down-market? ls it easy, cheap, expensive, impossible to make? Does it work? Be prepared to go back to "Analysis" / "Research".
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compromise between what you want to do, what can be afforded, and what is feasible. Be sure this is acceptable by getting feedback on all the possibilities before you reach this stage. Be prepared to go back to "Analysis" / "Research".
The RIBA handbook describes the design process as: Phase 1 assimilation. The accumulation and ordering of general information and information specifically related to the problem in hand. Phase 2 general study. The investigation of the nature of the problem. The investigation of possible solutions or means of solution. Phase 3 development. The development and refinement of one or more of the tentative solutions isolated during phase 2. Phase 4 communication. The communication of one or more solutions to people either inside or outside the design team.
The problems with the process are described as:
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the tendency to gather too much information in phase 1 that is irrelevant to the problem; the gathering of information is less mentally demanding than solving problems, so the transition from phase 1 to phase 2 is always put off; as phase 3 rarely goes smoothly there is usually the necessity to return to phase 2; it is difficult to know what you need to gather in phase 1 until you have done some of the research for phase 2.
(A further model in six phases has been suggested:
1 Enthusiasm; 2 Disillusionment; 3 Panic; 4 Search for the guilty; 5 Punishment of the innocent; 6 Praise for the non-participants.) From "How Designers Think - the design process demystified", by Brian Lawson, published by Butterworth-Architecture, 2nd. edition, 1 990.
roaches to ideas A basic classification of methods for developing ideas identified by Werner Gaede in his book Vom Wort zum Bild SYSTEMATIC APPROACH
This is based on the systematic collection and modification of components, characteristics and means of expression: such as by structuring and restructuring, enlarging and reducing, combining and extracting, replacing, adding, mirroring or reproducing. STIMULATED APPROACH
This is a conscious or subconscious search for inspiration from an external repertoire: in the surroundings, media, in discussion, libraries, etc. The main concern here is the development of analogies and associative approaches, which are then further developed into individual solutions. INTUITIVE APPROACH
This is the development of thought process, which is primarily based on internalised perceptions and knowledge, that is to say an internal repertoire. This type of thought process may occur spontaneously, without being evoked specially. This is actually a systematic process that takes place subconsciously. Taken From Digital Layout, David Skopec, AVA Publishing, Switzerland, 2003