For whom are we prototyping? : A review of the role of conceptual prototyping in engineering design creativity

• Prototypes are made, presented and interpreted differently by people according to their understanding and frame of reference. Design educators have, in recent decades, come closer to one another in how design creativity is approached. Still, many distinct differences exists. One of the most striking has to do with the role of prototyping in transporting ideas into concrete manifestations. Prototypes unlock cognitive association mechanisms related to visualization, prior experience, and interpersonal communication in ways that favour iterative learning between peers in the product development community. When, where, and how to use prototyping strategies depends on context and demands a high level of situation awareness. The nature of this awareness is in turn dependent on cultural variables. This paper investigates how prototyping is perceived in two distinctly different high performance academic contexts (i.e. Stanford and KTH). In both cases we have studied how prototyping enables new knowledge to emerge through iteration and team-based communication. The paper focuses on student's perceived learning experiences and on teacher's experiences within engineering design projects. Building on related research, this paper establishes a link between embedded implicit knowledge and its consequences for objective learning.

Nyckelord

Collaboration

Design creativity

Knowledge

Learning

Prototyping

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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