Sketches for Design and Design of Sketches

It is said, though not without controversy, that what distinguishes design from art is function. Design is for a purpose, usually a human one. As such, design entails both generating ideas and adapting those ideas to intended uses. This occurs iteratively. Form and function. Studying how people go about both these tasks gives insights that can facilitate the design process. Two relevant projects will be described. The first investigates how designers and novices get ideas from sketches and applies those insights to suggestions for promoting generation of ideas. The second seeks to develop computer algorithms for designing individualized visualizations, algorithms that are informed by cognitive design principles.