Print Email Facebook Twitter Conversations around design sketches: Use of communication channels for sharing mental models during concept generation Title Conversations around design sketches: Use of communication channels for sharing mental models during concept generation Author Nik Ahmad Ariff, N.S. Badke-Schaub, P.G. Eris, O. Faculty Industrial Design Engineering Department Product Innovation Management Date 2012-12-31 Abstract In this paper, we present an exploratory protocol study on the use of different communication channels during design sketching. We focus on how individual designers share their mental models with other designers in a group, and analyze their use of graphical, textual, and verbal communications during concept generation. Our findings suggest that verbal communication plays a role in the sharing of individual mental models during sketching, and complements graphical and textual communication channels. However, design teams can still function without verbal communication in that respect, and address design problems. They seem to compensate for the absence of the verbal communication channel by using the graphical and textual channels more, and by relying on a somewhat different communication structure. A natural and arguably more desirable interaction utilizes all three channels in conjunction. Our findings also suggest that, when working in groups, designers develop and share individual mental models not only about the design task at hand but also about the design process in order to manage the group interactions. Subject sketching, mental models, communication, design thinking To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:1bf0f329-8763-4bef-b016-e87351eb5aa4 ISSN 1360-1431 Source Design and technology education; and international journal, 17(3)2012 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights (c) 2012 The Authors Files PDF 284559.pdf 576.07 KB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:1bf0f329-8763-4bef-b016-e87351eb5aa4/datastream/OBJ/view