Presenting a Conceptual Model of the Design Process Based on Influential Factors in Design

Ashari, Samira; Soleimani, Behzad

doi:10.22034/ra.2025.2018110.1420

Presenting a Conceptual Model of the Design Process Based on Influential Factors in Design

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Samira Ashari ¹

Behzad Soleimani ²

¹ Ph. D student in Industrial Design, Faculty of Islamic Design, Tabriz Islamic Art University.

² Associate Professor, Department of Industrial Design, Faculty of Arts, Al-Zahra University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/ra.2025.2018110.1420

Abstract

Design is one of the most fundamental human characteristics and a crucial factor in determining the quality of life. Despite the diversity of design fields, professions, and domains, researchers and design experts have no universally accepted definition, and the understanding and meaning of design, thought, and process vary.
According to Herbert Simon, design is a purposeful performance that seeks to change existing conditions to the desired and expected ones. This process involves deliberate solutions to problems and the creation of new designs for novel objects, requiring problem-solving, the establishment and creation of new ideas, comparison, inference, analysis, and combination. Design can be seen as the starting point for creating changes and transformations in human artifacts. It is an idea that encompasses elements such as design, performance, form, quality, shape, materials, and other features, which has precedence over all other ideas and contains the story of a product within itself.
In the design process, two fundamental features exist. The first feature is the visualization of the future and the intelligent movement towards it, which allows the designer to move from the current state to the desired one. The second feature is the act of creating for others, which ensures our connection with the world and with each other.
Because design is tied to human needs and desires, it has a complex and multifaceted nature that necessitates in-depth research. The design process begins in the designer's mind and continues until it reaches its target and outcome. In order to produce a product that satisfies user needs, the designer must take into account influential factors on design during this journey.
The goal of this research in the first step is to identify the factors affecting design, examine their relationships, and determine their roles in the design process. This research, in the second step and using content analysis, presents a conceptual model for the design process. This topic is important because it utilizes design knowledge to create a conceptual model of the design process, aiming to facilitate designers and produce better products.
Based on the research goal, the following key questions are raised: What are the most influential factors on the design process? How do these factors interact in the process? What conceptual model for the design process can be provided based on these factors?
Content analysis is a qualitative research method used to categorize words and phrases in the text to identify, analyze, and interpret meaningful patterns. This method, which is applicable with an inductive approach, is often used to recognize underlying themes and categories through content analysis in a systematic manner. In reality, this theory is directly derived from the extracted data that were collected and analyzed regularly during the research, and the researcher himself develops a conceptual model.
Therefore, from this perspective, this study has a theoretical nature. Thus, in this study, data collection was conducted through documentary (library) methods, and traditional qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach, based on the study and inference of subjects from the data, was used.
The findings of this research were obtained through several stages. After identifying relevant articles related to the research field, the most influential factors affecting the design process were extracted from the research text using coding. These factors included time, truth and reality, problems and issues, goals, complexity and simplicity, conceptual models, authenticity, performance, and creativity. After achieving and reviewing these factors, a conceptual model was presented to describe the relationship between these factors. Examining their relationships revealed the position of each factor in the design process and presented another conceptual model for the design process.
This model aims to provide a scientific path for designers to follow and facilitate their movement towards the target, resulting in better outcomes. In the conceptual model of the design, the process begins by framing the problem based on experience and considering the past. It then identifies the needs by looking towards the future and considering the desired result.
The model presents the problem and sets the goals under current conditions. In an appropriate design process, or in other words, the main framework of design, looking at the past and the future should equally influence the design. This is because design sets specific goals to achieve the desired quality and truth.
To reach the best solution to a problem, factors such as complexity and simplicity, conceptual models, performance, originality, and creativity help the designer to arrive at the truth more easily, better, and faster. Designers, on the journey from complexity to simplicity, always use conceptual models to simplify the path. In addition, the performance of the effect or product must also be considered so that the desired outcome can be achieved and the goal, effect, or product reaches the best possible result.

Keywords

Design

design process

designer

design concepts

conceptual model

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