Inside the Designer
extensive research over the past thirty years in perceptual psychology , the research had not specifically addressed issues in design thinking . He proposed that “[ D ] eveloping a detailed understanding of creative mental synthesis . This book will serve to support design education , and therefore the improvement of design practice . Cognitive processes are central to the process and practice of design . Consequently , it is important that some of these cognitive processes be identified and understood ” ( Kokotovich , 2000 , p . 2 ).
In response , there has been some recent research focussing on abductive thinking and the notion of framing ( for example , Paton & Dorst , 2011 ) and imagining as a process ( for example , Folkmann , 2010 ) but as emphasised in the book , this focuses almost exclusively on thinking and problem solving processes in the industrial design discipline , downplaying the experiential and aesthetic dimensions to designing and the role of imagining in facilitating embodied creative mental synthesis , especially in spatial design .
To further understand all this , this work is focused through a key research question and hence takes the shape of a structured study . It is important to appreciate at this point that this book had its genesis in a formal doctoral program that was completed in 2013 .
What is imagining in the spatial design process ?
Specifically , this research question requires me to ask and thus investigate :
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What is imagining as experienced by interior design and architectural practitioners ? What extant theory is relevant and , when considered with current empirical research , is likely to expand current knowledge of imagining ? What are some initial implications for spatial design education and future research ?
In responding to these questions , the research approach for this book was informed substantially by Grounded Theory methodology . Initial research concerned with finding an appropriate methodology revealed how Grounded Theory is particularly useful for exploring an issue
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