Participatory ideation

Digitisation of design (converting analogue data into digital format), or digitalisation (turning analogue processes into digital ones) are not only driving mundane or routine aspects of the design process (such as rendering, drawing a plan or elevation) but also influencing design thinking and ideation. And so designers are being challenged by algorithms and corresponding software structures to focus their efforts on things that humans are better at than machines. Or rather, when challenged, how designers who embrace AI may do better than those who do not.  That is, designers need to engage in the evolving computer-human mind relationship. For example, AI is moving in the direction of becoming closer to a super-competent assistant, a virtual team member or co-pilot in the design process. That is, using AI tools in an enhancing role. Moreover, digitisation of visualisation has transformed the way designers communicate with non-expert clients shifting the balance of power in favour of the client - clients who, through their own digital experiences are better equipped to engage in the design process and consequently more demanding in their design requirements. This development highlights how the designer-client relationship is an ever closer cooperation, collaboration or partnership. In other words, digitisation is enabling a multi-level participatory design process where the client and other stakeholders are effectively becoming co-designers.

Performative ideas

Design ideation is a purposeful activity with a performative function in that the idea amounts to a proposal, plan or promise to be acted on. Moreover, the performative function of ideation relates to the semantics of ideas. That is, semantics is concerned with linguistic meaning that takes the idea beyond the visual expression of the material content (material culture). Verbal language, then, can enhance the meaning of the idea and help explain why some ideas are, or at least appear better than others. The reason for this is that ideas are sometimes just informed or reasoned guesses that designers present to their target audience, say a client. Designers, then, move about and develop the idea till they are satisfied that the idea would meet  the expectation of the client brief. In this pursuit, generative AI, as ideation tool and learning model, has a performative function and a performative capacity too. That is, AI offers support to designers to improve their performance in generating, developing and communicating ideas.