Discovering Design Methods Online

DS 86: Proceedings of The Fourth International Conference on Design Creativity,Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

Year: 2016
Editor: Julie Linsey, Maria Yang, and Yukari Nagai
Author: Carmen, Castanos; Maria, Yang; Alice, Agogino; Celeste, Roschuni; Julia, Kramer
Series: ICDC
ISBN: 978-1-904670-82-7

Abstract

This poster abstract investigates strategies for finding design methods using theDesignExchange, an
online repository of design methods aimed at both practitioners and students. However, students often
have difficulty selecting an appropriate method for their work. This preliminary, descriptive study asks:
What draws a student to select a particular design method on a page? The findings reveal that students are
more likely to browse, rather than search, for design methods on the repository, and that they are attracted
to methods primarily because of the method’s view counts and titles. Students perceived
the Design Exchange as useful for finding new methods, specifically during ideation after exhausting
methods they already knew and useful for sharing information with teammates. This study also provided
user feedback for the site, validating and directing future site development.

Keywords: method finding, tools, method selection, user interaction design