Hostname: page-component-69cd664f8f-5rtl5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-12T12:16:38.423Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An Exploration of the Relations between Functionality, Aesthetics and Creativity in Design

Part of: Design Creativity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2019

Ji Han ,
Hannah Forbes  and
Dirk Schaefer

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Creativity is often said to play a vital role in the product design process, while functionality and aesthetics are considered key factors of actual products. Functionality refers to the performance of a product, and aesthetics represents the visual and ergonomic appeals of the product. However, there appears to be an elusive relation between creativity, functionality and aesthetics. This study explores how functionality, aesthetics and creativity are related to one another in design. Through exploring the definitions and assessments of creativity in design, this study reveals that novelty, usefulness and surprise are the three core elements of design creativity. A case study involving experts evaluating design samples in terms of novelty, usefulness, surprise, functionality, aesthetics and overall creativity is conducted. The results imply that there are no statistically significant relations between creativity, functionality, and aesthetics. Considering the three core elements of design creativity, the results indicate that creativity is only statistically significantly related to novelty. Moreover, our results suggest that creativity and novelty are measuring the same construct.

Keywords

CreativityEarly design phasesNew product developmentFunctionalityAesthetics
Type
Article
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society: International Conference on Engineering Design , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , July 2019 , pp. 259 - 268
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2019

References

Achiche, S., Appio, F.P., McAloone, T.C. and Di Minin, A. (2013), “Fuzzy decision support for tools selection in the core front end activities of new product development”, Research in Engineering Design, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-012-0130-4Google Scholar
Amabile, T.M. (1983), The social psychology of creativity, Springer-Verlag, New York, USA.Google Scholar
Boden, M.A. (2004), The creative mind: Myths and mechanisms, 2 edn, Routledge, London, UK.Google Scholar
Carruthers, P. (2011), “Creative action in mind”, Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 437–461. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2011.556609Google Scholar
Chakrabarti, A. and Bligh, T.P. (2001), “A scheme for functional reasoning in conceptual design”, Design Studies, Vol. 22, pp. 493–517. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0142-694X(01)00008-4Google Scholar
Chakrabarti, A., Sarkar, P., Leelavathamma, B. and Nataraju, B.S. (2005), “A functional representation for aiding biomimetic and artificial inspiration of new ideas”, Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 113–132. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0890060405050109Google Scholar
Charyton, C. and Merrill, J.A. (2009), “Assessing general creativity and creative engineering design in first year engineering students”, Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 98 No. 2, pp. 145–156. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2009.tb01013.xGoogle Scholar
Childs, P.R.N. (2018), Mechanical design engineering handbook, 2nd edn, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK.Google Scholar
Childs, P.R.N., Hamilton, T., Morris, R.D. and Johnston, G. (2006), “Centre for technology enabled creativity”, DS 38: Proceedings of E&DPE 2006, the 8th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, Salzburg, Austria, 07.-08.09.2006.Google Scholar
Chiu, I. and Shu, L.H. (2012), “Investigating effects of oppositely related semantic stimuli on design concept creativity”, Journal of Engineering Design, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 271–296. https://doi.org/10.1080/09544828.2011.603298Google Scholar
Christensen, B.T. and Ball, L.J. (2016), “Dimensions of creative evaluation: Distinct design and reasoning strategies for aesthetic, functional and originality judgments”, Design Studies, Vol. 45, pp. 116–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2015.12.005Google Scholar
Chulvi, V., Sonseca, Á., Mulet, E. and Chakrabarti, A. (2012), “Assessment of the Relationships Among Design Methods, Design Activities, and Creativity”, Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 134 No. 11, pp. 111004-111004–111011. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4007362Google Scholar
Couger, J.D., Higgins, L.F. and McIntyre, S.C. (1993), “(Un)Structured Creativity in Information Systems Organizations”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 375–397. https://doi.org/10.2307/249584Google Scholar
Craft, A. (2003), “The Limits to Creativity in Education: Dilemmas for the Educator”, British Journal of Educational Studies, Vol. 51 No. 2, pp. 113–127. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8527.t01-1-00229Google Scholar
Crilly, N., Moultrie, J., Clarkson, P.J. (2004), “Seeing things: consumer response to the visual domain in product design”, Design Studies, Vol. 25, pp. 547–577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2004.03.001Google Scholar
Crilly, N. (2015), “Fixation and creativity in concept development: The attitudes and practices of expert designers”, Design Studies, Vol. 38, pp. 54–91. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2015.01.002Google Scholar
Crilly, N. and Cardoso, C. (2017), “Where next for research on fixation, inspiration and creativity in design?” Design Studies, Vol. 50, pp. 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2017.02.001Google Scholar
Cropley, D.H. and Kaufman, J.C. (2018), “The siren song of aesthetics? Domain differences and creativity in engineering and design”, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954406218778311Google Scholar
Cross, N. (2011), Design thinking: Understanding how designers think and work, Berg Publishers, New York, USA.Google Scholar
D'Souza, N. and Dastmalchi, M.R. (2016), “Creativity on the move: Exploring little-c (p) and big-C (p) creative events within a multidisciplinary design team process”, Design Studies, Vol. 46, pp. 6–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2016.07.003Google Scholar
Dean, D.L., Hender, J.M., Rodgers, T.L. and Santanen, E.L. (2006), “Identifying quality, novel, and creative ideas: Constructs and scales for idea evaluation”, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Vol. 7, No. 10, pp. 646–699.Google Scholar
Demirkan, H. and Afacan, Y. (2012), “Assessing creativity in design education: Analysis of creativity factors in the first-year design studio”, Design Studies, Vol. 33 No. 3, pp. 262–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2011.11.005Google Scholar
Doboli, A. and Umbarkar, A. (2014), “The role of precedents in increasing creativity during iterative design of electronic embedded systems”, Design Studies, Vol. 35 No. 3, pp. 298–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2014.01.001Google Scholar
Grace, K., Maher, M.L., Fisher, D. and Brady, K. (2015), “Data-intensive evaluation of design creativity using novelty, value, and surprise”, International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Vol. 3 No. 3-4, pp. 125–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650349.2014.943295Google Scholar
Hagtvedt, H. and Patrick, V.M. (2014), “Consumer Response to Overstyling: Balancing Aesthetics and Functionality in Product Design”, Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 31 No. 7, pp. 518–525. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20713Google Scholar
Han, J., Shi, F., Chen, L. and Childs, P.R.N. (2018a), “A computational tool for creative idea generation based on analogical reasoning and ontology”, Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing, Vol. 32 No. 4, pp. 462–477. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0890060418000082Google Scholar
Han, J., Shi, F., Park, D., Chen, L. and Childs, P. (2018b), “The conceptual distances between ideas in combinational creativity”, DS92: Proceedings of the DESIGN 2018 15th International Design Conference, pp. 1857–1866. https://doi.org/10.21278/idc.2018.0264Google Scholar
Han, J., Park, D., Shi, F., Chen, L., Hua, M. and Childs, P.R. (2019), “Three driven approaches to combinational creativity: Problem-, similarity- and inspiration-driven”, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science. Vol. 233 No. 2, pp. 373–384. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954406217750189Google Scholar
Hsiao, Y. and MacDonald, M.C. (2013), “Experience and generalization in a connectionist model of Mandarin Chinese relative clause processing”, Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 4, p. 767. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00767Google Scholar
Hung, W.-K. and Chen, L.-L. (2012), “Effects of Novelty and Its Dimensions on Aesthetic Preference in Product Design”, International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 81–90.Google Scholar
Kelly, N. and Gero, J.S. (2017), “Generate and situated transformation as a paradigm for models of computational creativity”, International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Vol. 5 No. 3-4, pp. 149–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650349.2016.1203821Google Scholar
Koestler, A. (1964), The act of creation, Hutchinson, London.Google Scholar
Lai, H.-H., Lin, Y.-C., Yeh, C.-H. and Wei, C.-H. (2006), “User-oriented design for the optimal combination on product design”, International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 100 No. 2, pp. 253–267.Google Scholar
Lee, J.H., Gu, N. and Ostwald, M.J. (2015), “Creativity and parametric design? Comparing designer's cognitive approaches with assessed levels of creativity”, International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 78–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650349.2014.931826Google Scholar
Lopez, R., Linsey, J.S. and Smith, S.M. (2011), “Characterizing the effect of domain distance in design-by-analogy”, 23rd International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology; 16th Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle Conference. https://doi.org/10.1115/detc2011-48428Google Scholar
Mahdizadeh Hakak, A., Bhattacharya, J., Biloria, N. and Ahmadi Venhari, A. (2016), “The Proto-Fuse project: methods to boost creativity for architects”, International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Vol. 4 No. 3-4, pp. 206–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650349.2015.1021838Google Scholar
Mumford, M.D. (2003), “Taking stock in taking stock”, Creativity Research Journal, Vol. 15, pp. 147–151.Google Scholar
O'Quin, K. and Besemer, S.P. (1989), “The development, reliability, and validity of the revised creative product semantic scale”, Creativity Research Journal, Vol. 2 No. 4, pp. 267–278. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400418909534323Google Scholar
Oman, S.K., Tumer, I.Y., Wood, K. and Seepersad, C. (2013), “A comparison of creativity and innovation metrics and sample validation through in-class design projects”, Research in Engineering Design, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 65–92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-012-0138-9Google Scholar
Orsborn, S., Cagan, J. and Boatwright, P. (2009), “Quantifying Aesthetic Form Preference in a Utility Function”, Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 131 No. 6, pp. 061001-061001–061010. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3116260Google Scholar
Perez Mata, M., Ahmed-Kristensen, S., Brockhoff, P.B. and Yanagisawa, H. (2017), “Investigating the influence of product perception and geometric features”, Research in Engineering Design, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 357–379. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-016-0244-1Google Scholar
Plucker, J.A. and Makel, M.C. (2010), Assessment of creativity, in Kaufman, J.C. and Sternberg, R.J. (eds), The Cambridge handbook of creativity, The Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 48–73.Google Scholar
Pringle, H. (2013), “The origins of creativity”, Scientific American, Vol. 23 pp. 4–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamericancreativity1213-4Google Scholar
Rahman, O., Jiang, Y. and Liu, W.-s. (2010), “Evaluative Criteria of Denim Jeans: A Cross-national Study of Functional and Aesthetic Aspects”, The Design Journal, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 291–311. https://doi.org/10.2752/146069210X12766130824894Google Scholar
Rhodes, M. (1961), “An Analysis of Creativity”, The Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 42 No. 7, pp. 305–310.Google Scholar
Rodgers, P.A. and Jones, P. (2017), “Comparing University Design Students’ and Tutors’ Perceptions of Creativity”, The Design Journal, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 435–457. https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2017.1323503Google Scholar
Sarkar, P. and Chakrabarti, A. (2007), “Development of a method for assessing design creativity”, Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED07), Paris, France.Google Scholar
Sarkar, P. and Chakrabarti, A. (2011), “Assessing design creativity”, Design Studies, Vol. 32 No. 4, pp. 348–383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2011.01.002Google Scholar
Shah, J.J., Kulkarni, S.V. and Vargas-Hernandez, N. (2000), “Evaluation of Idea Generation Methods for Conceptual Design: Effectiveness Metrics and Design of Experiments”, Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 122 No. 4, pp. 377–384. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1315592Google Scholar
Shah, J.J., Smith, S.M. and Vargas-Hernandez, N. (2003), “Metrics for measuring ideation effectiveness”, Design Studies, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 111–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0142-694x(02)00034-0Google Scholar
Snider, C., Dekoninck, E. and Culley, S. (2016), “Beyond the concept: characterisations of later-stage creative behaviour in design”, Research in Engineering Design, Vol. 27 No. 3, pp. 265–289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-016-0218-3Google Scholar
Sonderegger, A. and Sauer, J. (2010), “The influence of design aesthetics in usability testing: Effects on user performance and perceived usability”, Applied Ergonomics, Vol. 41, pp. 403–410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2009.09.002Google Scholar
Sosa, M.E. and Marle, F. (2013), “Assembling Creative Teams in New Product Development Using Creative Team Familiarity”, Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 135 No. 8, pp. 081009-081009–081013. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4024763Google Scholar
Sternberg, R.J. and Lubart, T.I. (1998), The Concept of Creativity: Prospects and Paradigms, in Sternberg, R.J. (ed.), Handbook of Creativity, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 3–15.Google Scholar
Sylcott, B., Cagan, J. and Tabibnia, G. (2013), “Understanding Consumer Tradeoffs Between Form and Function Through Metaconjoint and Cognitive Neuroscience Analyses”, Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 135 No. 10, pp. 101002-101002–101013. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4024975Google Scholar
Tan, C. (2016), “Understanding creativity in East Asia: insights from Confucius’ concept of junzi”, International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 51–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650349.2015.1026943Google Scholar
Taura, T. and Nagai, Y. (2017), “Creativity in Innovation Design: the roles of intuition, synthesis, and hypothesis”, International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Vol. 5 No. 3-4, pp. 131–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650349.2017.1313132Google Scholar
Thompson, G. and Lordan, M. (1999), “A review of creativity principles applied to engineering design”, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part E: Journal of Process Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 213 No. 1, pp. 17–31. https://doi.org/10.1243/0954408991529960Google Scholar
Toh, C.A. and Miller, S.R. (2015), “How engineering teams select design concepts: A view through the lens of creativity”, Design Studies, Vol. 38, pp. 111–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2015.03.001Google Scholar
Valgeirsdottir, D., Onarheim, B. and Gabrielsen, G. (2015), “Product creativity assessment of innovations: considering the creative process”, International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 95–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650349.2014.954626Google Scholar
Verhaegen, P.-A., Vandevenne, D., Peeters, J. and Duflou, J.R. (2013), “Refinements to the variety metric for idea evaluation”, Design Studies, Vol. 34 No. 2, pp. 243–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2012.08.003Google Scholar
Wang, H.-H. (2016), “Winning formulas for metaphor design: A case study of design competitions”, DS 84: Proceedings of the DESIGN 2016 14th International Design Conference.Google Scholar
Wang, H.-H. and Chan, J.-H. (2010), An Approach to Measuring Metaphoricity of Creative Design, in Taura, T. and Nagai, Y. (eds), Design creativity 2010, Springer London, London, pp. 89–96.Google Scholar
Yilmaz, S., Daly, S.R., Seifert, C.M. and Gonzalez, R. (2016), “Evidence-based design heuristics for idea generation”, Design Studies, Vol. 46, pp. 95–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2016.05.001Google Scholar