Design Research

"Design Research - Theories, Methodologies and Product Modelling" is one of four books resulting from the contributions to the 13th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED 01), held in August 2001 in Glasgow Scotland. The ICED conference series was initiated by Workshop Design-Konstruktion (WDK) in 1981 and has grown to become one of the most pre-eminent conferences in the field. From the beginning, ICED has offered a platform for the discussion of new trends, developments and research findings in the areas of product development, design support techniques, design processes, design science and design education. ICED conferences cover all aspects and disciplines of engineering design, and over the years have become the forum for establishing, maintaining and improving contacts and cooperation between researchers and engineers working in engineering design from countries all over the world. "Design Research - Theories, Methodologies and Product Modelling" covers two main groups - firstly, those concerned with underpinning design theories, research frameworks and methodologies, and, secondly, those concerned with the representation of products and systems. Also included is an invited paper that reviews the contribution of ICED to engineering design research and practice. The first section goes on to address issues about the nature and philosophy of design, different design theories, how to model and manage complexity in design, research methodologies, and models of the design process, creativity and innovation. The second section is on product and system modelling. Contributions highlighting the difficulties and methods of product data management, the use of sketching and vague models in conceptual design, functional and feature-based modelling, and CAD are provided. The latest applications and developments in virtual reality, and standards for exchange of product information all go to make up a comprehensive review of current progress.