Sources of inspiration: a language of design

doi:10.1016/S0142-694X(00)00022-3

Design Studies

Volume 21, Issue 5, September 2000, Pages 523-538

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0142-694X(00)00022-3 Get rights and content

Abstract

Sources of inspiration play an important role in the design process, both in defining the context for new designs and in informing the creation of individual designs. Previous designs and other sources of ideas furnish a vocabulary both for thinking about new designs and for describing designs to others. In a study of knitwear design, a process in which the use of sources of inspiration is explicitly acknowledged, we have observed that designers communicate with each other about new designs, styles and moods, largely by reference to the sources of their ideas. In this paper we discuss why this style of communication is so important, and what information it is used to convey. We view it as the use of a language to describe regions in the space of possible designs.

Section snippets

Sources of inspiration

Almost all design proceeds by transforming, combining and adapting elements of previous designs, as well as elements and aspects of other objects, images and phenomena. Everything can be a source of inspiration to a designer. `A good designer is inspired by everything' is a frequent quote one hears from knitwear designers as an answer to the question what makes a creative designer. Designers use a variety of types of source: comparable designs (for knitwear designers, other knitted garments);

Knitwear design: a case study

Our empirical study of the knitwear industry, carried out over seven years in more than 25 companies in Britain, Germany and Italy, has focused on (1) communication in design teams2, 3and how this can be facilitated by computer support2, 11; and (2) the use of sources of inspiration throughout the knitwear design process12, 13. While it is simple enough to be understood, knitwear design shares many characteristics of complex engineering projects; many ubiquitous phenomena are especially salient

The roles of sources of inspiration in design cognition

Perception of external sources of inspiration prompts new imaginings. Research on the role of externalisations in design thinking has concentrated on the role of sketching[14]. Schön[15]has shown that for many architects, sketching is an essential part of creative design, and creation is driven by making and perceiving sketches; Schön characterises design as an interactive conversation between mind and sketch. Designers directly appreciate different types of information in their own sketches[16]

Communicating through sources of inspiration

Designers communicate by reference to previous instances of design elements in a variety of different situations, to achieve different objectives. The extent to which they rely on verbal references rather than showing actual images or objects is influenced both by how much of their cultural context is shared by their conversation partners, and by how much effort they want to invest in the communication.

Most communication by reference to example by knitwear designers is about the emergent

The structure of the language

Sources of inspiration provide designers with a vocabulary for thinking about designs and communicating their ideas to others. In this section we push the linguistic analogy a little further, to explore the structure and expressive power of source-based communication.

Discourse in source-language

Conceiving and communicating designs by reference to sources of inspiration arises in situations with particular characteristics shared by design activities in a variety of industries. It influences the forms of explanation and argumentation used by designers, and the ways in which the members of design teams alter each others' design ideas.

Conclusions

Communication of design ideas by reference to their sources of inspiration plays a major role in knitwear design. Individual designs are specified as changes to one or more sources. Groups of objects are used to express styles—regions in the space of possible designs. Interpreting such communication is fundamentally a redesign by the listener from the same starting point. It is thus reliant on the recipient sharing the sender's knowledge of the sources and the cultural context.

Communication by

Acknowledgements

Claudia Eckert's research was supported by grant GR/J40331 from the SERC/ACME, grant L12730100173 from the ESRC, and grant 717 from the Open University Research Development Fund. Fig. 2, Fig. 3 are courtesy of Zoom on fashion trends.

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Sources of inspiration: a language of design

Abstract

Section snippets

Sources of inspiration

Knitwear design: a case study

The roles of sources of inspiration in design cognition

Communicating through sources of inspiration

The structure of the language

Discourse in source-language

Conclusions

Acknowledgements

Design Studies

Design Studies

Design Studies

Managing effective communication in knitwear design

Design Journal