Part A

Q 1. Outline any two definitions of Design.

According to Alexander Design is finding right physical component of physical structure.
According to Arches Design is a goal directed problem solving activity.
According to Asimov Design is a decision making in face of uncertainity with high penalties of error.
According to Lawson -The optimum solution to the sum of the true needs of a particular set of circumstances


Q2. What do you understand by good design?
A good design is to look for best possible expression of design skills to solve the needs of a user
taking care of aesthetics as well. The solution should reflect both practical as well as creative.

Q3. Briefly describe Chris Jones ideas on design approach.
Chris Jones (1970) gives what he regarded as the ultimate definition of design:To initiate change in
man-made things.
Chris Jones (1966) had already recognised just how difficult this search is in his earlier description of
design: The performing of a very complicated act of faith.



Q4. Explain the context for rise of design methodology movement.
The early years of the design methodology movement were characterised by a tendency to look for
common features in the design process or at least to classify design strategies.Many writers have
tried to chart a route through the process from beginning to end. The common idea behind all these
maps of the design methodology is that it consists of a sequence of distinct and identifiable activities
which occur in some predictable and identifiably logical order. This seems at first sight to be quite a
sensible way of analysing design. Logically it seems that the designer must do a number of things in
order to progress from the first stages of getting a problem to the final stages of defining a solution.
Unfortunately, these assumptions turn out to be rather unrealistic. Each designer attempts to follow
his own methodology of design.


Q 5. Differentiate between escalation and regression as approach to defining design problems.

Eberhard (1970) suggests that there are two ways in which designers can retreat back up the
hierarchy of problems, by escalation and by regression.

When faced with the task of designing a new knob for his clients office door, Eberhards designer
suggests that perhaps we ought to ask ourselves whether a doorknob is the best way of opening and
closing a door. Soon the designer is questioning whether the office really needs a door, or should
even have four walls and soon. As Eberhard reports from his own experience, such a train of
argument can lead to the redesign of the organisation of which the client and his office are part, and
ultimately the very political system which allows this organisation to exist is called into question. This
escalation leads to an ever wider definition of the problem.

We may also respond to a design problem by what Eberhard calls regression. A student was asked
to design a new central library building decided that he needed to study the various methods of
loaning and storing books. This behaviour is only one logical outcome in practice of the notion that
analysis
precedes synthesis and data collection precedes analysis. As we have seen, in design it is difficult to
know what problems are relevant and what information will be useful until a solution is attempted.

Both escalation and regression often go together in the design process.

Q 6. What is the significance of Goal Setting in Design?

A Goal is a statement of intention, an end that one strives to attain or that that toward which
effort or play is directed.
It is a statement which moves us to take action.
Goals are vehicles to make design decisions.



Q 7. What do you understand by the term Brainstorming?

Brainstorming is described by Alex Osborn as Applied Imagination.

Webstars dictionary describes Brainstorming as To practice a conferencing technique by which a
group attempts to find a solution for a specific problem by amassing all ideas pontenously
contributedby its members.


Q 8. What is Concept in design?

Good design often seems to have only a very few major dominating ideas which structure the scheme
and around which the minor considerations are organised. Sometimes they can be reduced to only
one main idea known to designers by many names but most often called the concept.


Q 9. Analogy has been a popular channel to architectural creativity. Bring out two examples in this
regard.
Analgy is a correspondence in some respect especially in function or form between two things
otherwise dissimilar.
Analogy is comparison between a whole object and the design problem, on a point to point basis. Eg.
Sydney Opera House is like a ship sailing in a harbour, An amphitheatre is like a cupped hand etc.


Q 10. Explain on what basis design can be classified.

Broadbents method probably does not hold together as a total method but relies upon four distinct
ways of classifying design form which he called, pragmatic, iconic, analogical and canonic
Methods.

Pragmatic design is simply the use of available materials methods of construction, generally without
innovation, as if selecting from a catalogue.

Iconic design is even more conservative in that it effectively calls for the designer to copy existing
solutions.

Canonic design relies on the use of rules such as planning grids,proportioning systems and the like.

Analogical design results from the designer using analogies with other fields or contexts to create a
new way of structuring the problem.


Q 11. Briefly explain different ways of thinking to arrive at a design solution.

Divergent and Convergent Thinking-
Divergent thinking is the intellectual ability to think of many original, diverse and elaborate ideas.

Covergent thinking is the intellectual ability to logically evaluate, critique and choose the best idea
from a selection of ideas.

Both abilities are required for creative output. Divergent thinking is essential to the novelty of creative
products whereas convergent thinking is fundamental to the appropriateness.

Vertical and Lateral Thinking
The most basic principle of lateral thinking is that any particular way of looking at things is only one
from among many other possible ways - Edward De Bono, 1970. Many different approaches are
desired rather than the best approach.
It is about changing concepts and perceptions rather than trying harder with the same concepts and
perceptions.
Vertical thinking is selective, lateral thinking is generative.
Vertical thinking moves only if there is a direction to move, lateral thinking moves in order to generate
a direction.

Q 12. How is information processing mapped in the brain of a designer?


Two academics, Tom Markus (1969b) and Tom Maver (1970) produced rather more elaborate maps
of the arc method requires both a decision sequence and a design process or morphology. They
suggest that we need to go through the decision sequence of analysis, synthesis, appraisal and
decision at increasingly detailed levels of the design process.


The activities of analysis, synthesis and evaluation are certainly involved in this negotiation but the
map does not indicate any starting and finishing points or the direction of flow from one activity to
another. However, this map should not be read too literally since any visually understandable diagram
is probably far too much of a simplification of what is clearly a highly complex mental process.

Q 13. Perception is a dynamic process in which a designer participates. Explain briefly.


The relationships which exist between people, the ideas for which they stand, and their perception of
each other, all contribute to decisions along with the logic and passion of the arguments. Designer
grows in his perceptions as he travels through the process of design.
Design problem itself is an understanding of the design in which the designer draws his own
perceptions by way of speaking to the clients, studying the various aspects of the existing features
and what is desired of the end product.
Design drawings are part of the mental process of thinking about a design. The designer performs
the act of drawing not to communicate with others but to pursue a line of thought and draw his own
perceptions.
As the designer goes through the design process and he faces a no. of constraints, his perceptions
undergo a dynamic change and development.
The process does not end here. Even after the bulding or the product is evaluated by the designer,
his perceptions keep on changing and adding to his concepts and values.
Thus perception is a dynamic process in which a designer participates.


Q 14 Formulation of design problem relates to context. Substantiate.

At first sight it may seem obvious where design problems come from. Clients bring them to designers!
As we shall see, whilst that is often true it is not always so, and it turns out to be only a small
part of the story. It is certainly possible for designers to discover a problem without a client and much
interesting design work is done under exactly these clientless conditions. We also to need to draw a
careful distinction between the clients who present problems to designers and the ultimate users of
the outcome. Clients may or may not be the users of design. Legislators can often pose considerable
problems for the designer and they may sometimes even be in conflict with the client. Town planning
legislation for example exists chiefly to protect the general public from the possible selfish excesses of
individual architectural clients. Whether such development control is actually so beneficial, however,
is probably debatable. Hence how a design problem is formulated largely depends on the context in
which the problem has been formed and the design process may also be affected by the same.



Q 15 What are blocks in the creative design process?
Some of t he negative attitudes which block creativity are-
1. Oh no! A problem.- The reaction to a problem is sometimes a bigger problem than the
problem itself.
2. It cant be done This attitude is surrendering before the battle.
3. I cant do it Some people think that the problem my be solved by some expert and not by
them.
4. But I am not creative Fear of criticism and lack of confidence results in such attitude.
5. Thats Childish In their effort to appear always mature and sophisticated they often ridicule
the creative attitudes.
6. What will people think There is immense social pressure to confirm and to be ordinaryand
not creative.
7. I might fail-


Q 16. Explain how metaphor can be used to generate design ideas?

Metaphor is afigure or speech in which one thing is likened to another as if it were the other. For eg:
One maydesign a house as if it were the stage for the drama of life. Metapor is taken as the spirit of
the thing in the design problem.


Q 17. State the purpose and nature of good design.

The purpose of good design is to solve the design problem taking the function as well as the
aesthetics into consideration.

The nature of design involves the following:
No design can be perfect or free of flaw.
Design isa decision making process. Design may not be perfect but a good and satisfying
solution.
Nothing is perfect and there is always room for improvement.
Design of anything in the real world must always be done with constraints, non negotiable
limitations and restrictions imposed by different factors.
Imperfections sometimes enhance the design and elevate the appreciation of the creative
achievement.

Q 18. State the aspects of design process.

Design process may be divided into four phases:
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 inside or
outside the design team.

Q 19. Highlight any two important stages of design.

Analysis involves the exploration of relationships, looking for patterns in the information available, and
the classification of objectives. Analysis is the ordering and structuring of the problem.

Synthesis on the other hand is characterised by an attempt to move forward and create a response to
the problem the generation of solutions.

Appraisal involves the critical evaluation of suggested solutions against the objectives identified in the
analysis phase.



Q 20. Outline the context for the rise of design methodology movement.

As designs became more revolutionary and progressive, so the failures of the design by drawing
process became more obvious, particularly in the field of architecture. It became apparent that if we
were to continue separating designing from making, and also to continue the rapid rate of change and
innovation, then new forms of modelling the final design were urgently required. It was precisely this
concern that led Alexander to write his famous work Notes on the Synthesis of Form in 1964. He
argued that we were far too optimistic in expecting anything like satisfactory results from a drawing-
board based design process.
Alexander proposed a method of structuring design problems that would allow designers to see a
graphical representation of the structure of non-visual problems.

Q 21. Differentiate between creativity and imagination.
Understanding some ideas, create a logical thinking, find the correct path and eliminating the incorrect
path all these things require imagination.
However there is a different kind of thinking which focuses more on exploring ideas, generating
possibilities, looking for many right answers rather than just one. This is called creativity.


Q 22. How is Information processing mapped by the brain of a designer?

The cognitive approach to human thinking sees human beings as much more adaptable and
genuinely intelligent organisms. It deals with process and operational function rather than physical
mechanism, and it stresses the influence of the context in which problems are perceived on the
thought process itself. The cognitive psychologists, while building also follow on from the first flush of
enthusiasm shown by psychologists for applying information theory to human thought, but are less
fanatical about its potential. In his brilliant treatise on cognitive psychology Neisser (1967) points out
that humans are different from machines from the very beginning of the perceiving and thinking
process:
Humans . . . are by no means neutral or passive towards incoming information. Instead they select some parts for
attention at the expense of others, recording and reformulating them in complex ways.
(Neisser 1967)
There are two types of processes by which a design is perceived by a designer.- primary and
Secondary.
The primary thought process being a multiple activity like parallel processing in computers. These
crudely formed thoughts are similar to the pre attentive processes in vision or hearing being only
drawn to our conscious attention if selected for detailed and deliberate elaboration by the secondary
processes.
It is in the secondary processes where all the real work is done. These processes have to be
acquired and developed, and are dependent upon what is already memorised and the way material
has been organised in primary processing. The cognitive theories thus lay great emphasis upon the
way we organise perceived information and store it. Failure to recall is seen as analogous to a failure
to notice something in a visual scene. Attention in perception and thought is seen as responsible for
directing our thoughts and thus crucial to problem-solving.


Q 23. Perception is a dynamic process in which a designer participates. Explain.

Perception is surely a dynamic process in which a designer participates. His perception of the design
continually develops and changes as he involves himself into the design. When a designer starts
understanding a design problem he is guided by a pre conceived perception of the design. But as he
indulges more and more into the details of the design problem, his perceptions of the requirements,
the context in which he has to work and the process which he may adapt undergoes a continuous
change. Even after the designer has completed his design and starts evaluating the same his
realizations may bring a better understanding and perception of design.

Thus the perceptions of the designer undergo a continuous change as they proceed through the
design process.

PART B
Q 1. Elaborate in detail the different ways in which design has been classified in history.

Q 2. Discuss any four different ways of generating 3 dimensional forms by a designer.

Broadbents method
Perhaps one of the most ambitious programmes of design methods was developed by Geoffrey
Broadbent (1973) specifically for use in architecture but which actually has many generic qualities. In
reality Broadbents method probably does not hold together as a total method but relies upon four
distinct ways of generating design form which he called, pragmatic, iconic, analogical and canonic
methods.
Broadbent arrived at this taxonomy from a study of the history of architecture and shows how each of
his four techniques have been used at various times. Broadbent suggests a complete design method
could find the designer using all four of his tactics in an ordered and organised way, and then
selecting from amongst the solutions produced.

Pragmatic design
Pragmatic design is simply the use of available materials methods of construction, generally without
innovation, as if selecting from a catalogue. Provided that the designer has a good grasp of the
strengths and weaknesses of traditional and established techniques this method certainly has its
uses. It is essentially traditional and conservative and, therefore, a low risk approach unlikely to lead
to dramatic failure. This is virtually a pattern-book approach and unlikely to yield great design or move
ideas forward. However, it may well prove a valuable tactic in identifying a range of possibleforms for
all or parts of a design.

Iconic design
Iconic design is even more conservative in that it effectively calls for the designer to copy existing
solutions. Speculative house builders seem to work this way by reproducing their standard house
types irrespective of the local conditions or external constraints of the site. Whilst this is unlikely to
appeal to the creative mind, such an approach does have its value and supporters. The commercial
psychologist, Conrad Jameson (1971), has been critical of architects for beginning their design
process with a blank sheet of paper as if each problem were entirely new. By using iconic techniques
designers might begin with existing solutions and modify them to meet the new conditions. This might
lead to a greater stability and avoid the commonly found errors in which designers miss the clever
way in which vernacular designs solved problems, although it is also possible that such a technique
could perpetuate errors.

Canonic design
Canonic design relies on the use of rules such as planning grids, proportioning systems and the like.
The classical architectural styles and their Renaissance successors offered opportunities for such an
approach, and we have already seen how Vitruvius and later Alberti laid down such rules. More
recently Le Corbusiers modulor can be seen as an attempt to produce canonical rules that allowed
for more iconoclastic designs. Even more recently, system-building relying on modular co-ordination
and standard components has typically generated rather dull results using this method.

Analogical design
Analogical design results from the designer using analogies with other fields or contexts to create a
new way of structuring the problem. As we shall see later in this chapter this is based on a widely
recommended generic technique for creative thinking. Certainly there are clear examples of
significant use of analogical thought in design. The use of organic forms in architecture which offer
ways of generating beautiful and also efficient structures are characteristic of the architect/engineer
Santiago Calatrava whose work we shall hear more of later in this chapter. His design sketchbooks
include many drawings of parts of the human body from which he frequently draws inspiration in
terms of the way it can flex into many alternative structurally stable configurations to take on different
loading patterns. Analogies may be used to give integrity to ways of constructing parts of design
solutions.

Q 3. Discuss any three types of analogies used as a means to design suitable building examples.
Page 350n 354 of Broadbent book.


Q 4. What are the various models of design process?
Page 32 38 of How designers think.


Q 5. Discuss four approaches to achieve creative design.
Page 344 352 of Broadbent book.


Q 6. What are the key rules to successful brainstorming in arriving at clear ideas?
Page 348 of Geoffery Broadbent book. Broadbent book.



Q 7. Discuss the theories of thinking leading to creative design solutions.
Refer notes page

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