Which One Should I Pick? Concept Selection in Engineering Design Industry

There has been a wealth of research focused on methods for encouraging creativity during the conceptual design process due to the innate importance of creativity in engineering design. However, much of the research has focused on creativity in student designers, often neglecting to consider how professional designers perceive creativity — particularly during concept selection. In addition, while there are many formal concept selection techniques that have been adopted in design practice, it is unknown what specific types of tools professional designers use to select design concepts or the importance designers place on creativity during this selection process. In order to address this research void, an exploratory study was conducted with 27 professional designers using an online survey to understand their perceptions of creativity and the use of concept selection techniques in design industry. The results of this study are used to identify the factors that effect concept selection and increase our understanding of the creative process in engineering design industry.