Literature on the use of design tools in educational settings notes an uneasy relationship between student use of traditional hand sketching and digital modelling tools (CAD) during the industrial design process. This is often manifested in the transition from sketching to CAD and exacerbated by a preference of current students to use CAD. In this…

This paper presents two studies in which an empirical approach was taken to understand and explain form generation and decisions taken in the design process. In particular, the activities addressing aesthetic aspects when exteriorising form ideas in the design process have been the focus of the present study. Diary methods were the starting point…

Discussion is often reported concerning potential links between computer-aided designing and creativity, but there is a lack of systematic enquiry to gather empirical evidence concerning such links. This paper reports an indication of findings from other research studies carried out in contexts beyond general education that have sought evidence…