The Intelligent Sketch: Developing a Conceptual Model for a Digital Design Assistant (2000)
article⁄The Intelligent Sketch: Developing a Conceptual Model for a Digital Design Assistant (2000)
abstract⁄The computer is a relatively new tool in the practice of Architecture. Since its introduction, there has been a desire amongst designers to use this new tool quite early in the design process. However, contrary to this desire, most Architects today use pen and paper in the very early stages of design to sketch. Architects solve problems by thinking visually. One of the most important tools that the Architect has at his disposal in the design process is the hand sketch. This iterative way of testing ideas and informing the design process with images fundamentally directs and aids the architect’s decision making. It has been said Schon and Wiggins 1992 that sketching is about the reflective conversation designers have with images and ideas conveyed by the act of drawing. It is highly dependent on feedback. This ‘conversation’ is an area worthy of investigation. Understanding this ‘conversation’ is significant to understanding how we might apply the computer to enhance the designer’s ability to capture, manipulate and reflect on ideas during conceptual design. This paper discusses sketching and its relation to design thinking. It explores the conversations that designers engage in with the media they use. This is done through the explanation of a protocol analysis method. Protocol analysis used in the field of psychology, has been used extensively by Eastman et al starting in the early 70s as a method to elicit information about design thinking. In the pilot experiment described in this paper, two persons are used. One plays the role of the ‘hand’ while the other is the ‘mind’ the two elements that are involved in the design ‘conversation’. This variation on classical protocol analysis sets out to discover how ‘intelligent’ the hand should be to enhance design by reflection. The paper describes the procedures entailed in the pilot experiment and the resulting data. The paper then concludes by discussing future intentions for research and the far reaching possibilities for use of the computer in architectural studio teaching as teaching aids as well as a digital design assistant in conceptual design.
