The Role of Sketching States in the Stimulation of Idea Generation: An Eye Movement Study

Abstract

Sketching is widely used in design to generate creative ideas. Design studies present stimuli during sketching to enhance creativity. This study examines the effect of stimuli presented during different sketching states, especially of those presented during the stuck period. It conducted a sketching experiment that enrolled 41 students with an average of 5.7 years' practice in industrial design. The sketching with stimuli presented at regular intervals, those with stimuli presented during the stuck period, and those without stimulus were compared. Eye movements during the sketching processes were recorded. The attention to stimuli, and the direct applications of stimuli to design ideas, and the idea connection and idea differentiation were analyzed. Participants sketching with stimuli presented during the stuck period had a higher sketching quality, compared with those in other experimental conditions. They fixated longer on stimuli, built more links among related ideas, and had a more differentiated and balanced exploration. This study then proposed the mechanisms of stimuli processing. The stimuli presented at regular intervals were stored and acted as additional memory. The stimuli presented during the stuck period were dissected and acted as supporter, inducing a more creative sketching.

COMPREHENDING THE DESIGNER'S SKETCH & IMPLICATIONS FOR COMMUNICATION

“…Eye tracking as a measure of physical response to examine design cognition has recently emerged as an approach to understand design thinking when engaged in conceptual ideation (Sun et al, 2014); although the approach is yet to be employed to examine differences in stakeholder comprehension of design ideas when communicated through concept sketches.…”