MAPPING DESIGN PROCESS AND RADAR ANALYSIS OF DESIGN ACTIVITIES

There is considerable interest in quantifying the impact of professional design activity: At a policy level governments and professional bodies require objective measures of value added to national economies. At firm level there are a range of benefits derived from understanding of value-added to individual businesses or product development activities. However, despite various initiatives, such as national surveys and competitions, there is limited effective communication and more detailed understanding of how design activity creates impact. Building on over 40 years of research into design process, the reported study proposes a rationalised design-space and process model for creating design process maps and radar charts as a basis for unified exploration of a range of factors which affect the outcomes, and therefore impact, of design activity. These methods: Design process maps and HEET radar charts, are applied in various longitudinal studies of design pedagogy. The results highlight differences between design theory and practice together with deficiencies in design process and project orientation within the sampled projects. The overall outcomes inform ongoing development of design evaluation techniques and the communication of design impact.