1. 
What is the Content of
“DESIGN THINKING”?
Design Heuristics as Conceptual Repertoire
Colin M. Gray1, Colleen M. Seifert2,
Seda Yilmaz1, Shanna R. Daly2, & Richard Gonzalez2
1 Iowa State University; 2 University of Michigan

2. What is a designer thinking
about when engaged in
DESIGN THINKING?

3. What is a designer thinking
about when engaged in
DESIGN THINKING?
SCOPE GENERATE EVALUATE REALIZE
IDEA GENERATION

6. Design Heuristics
• Captures the ways that designers modify
product concepts
• Based on observed patterns of conceptual
development in empirical studies of past product
designs (e.g., Daly et al., 2012; Yilmaz & Seifert, 2010;
Yilmaz et al., 2011)

7. Design Heuristics
Utilize opposite
surface 76
Create a distinction between exterior and interior, front and back, or bottom
and top. Make use of both surfaces for complimentary or different functions.
This can increase efficiency in the use of surfaces and materials, or facilitate a
new way to achieve a function.
© Design Heuristics, LLC 2012
Utilize opposite
surface 76FARALLON CHAIR
fuseproject
The back side of this chair has a pocket
for storage.
980 TATOU
Annika Luber
The laces wrap around the bottom of
this shoe and connect with the sole.

8. Other Ideation Methods
• Represented as abstract principles or framing
guidelines (e.g., Synectics, SCAMPER)
• More specific about tradeoffs in designed artifacts
(e.g., TRIZ)
• Design Heuristics captures strategic knowledge about
how to generate alternative concepts, grounded in
precedent artifacts and design activity

9. (Löwgren, 2013, p. 32)

10. (Löwgren, 2013, p. 32)
“more abstracted than particular
instances, yet does not aspire to the
generality of a theory”
(Höök & Löwgren, 2012)

11. (Löwgren, 2013, p. 32)

12. (Löwgren, 2013, p. 33)

13. (Löwgren, 2013, p. 33)
Intermediate-Level
Knowledge

14. Designing Through Gambit
REPERTOIRE

15. Designing Through Gambit
lived experiences
precedents
cognitive schema
[generative metaphors]
REPERTOIRE

16. DISCIPLINARY
CANON
INDIVIDUAL
REPERTOIRE
INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL CONCEPT
BUILT FROM PRECEDENT

17. DISCIPLINARY
CANON
INDIVIDUAL
REPERTOIRE
INTERNAL COHERENCE
OF PATTERN
DESIGN HEURISTICS AS
CONCEPTUAL REPERTOIRE

18. Utilize opposite
surface 76
Create a distinction between exterior and interior, front and back, or bottom
and top. Make use of both surfaces for complimentary or different functions.
This can increase efficiency in the use of surfaces and materials, or facilitate a
new way to achieve a function.
© Design Heuristics, LLC 2012
Utilize opposite
surface 76FARALLON CHAIR
fuseproject
The back side of this chair has a pocket
for storage.
980 TATOU
Annika Luber
The laces wrap around the bottom of
this shoe and connect with the sole.

19. Utilize opposite
surface 76
Create a distinction between exterior and interior, front and back, or bottom
and top. Make use of both surfaces for complimentary or different functions.
This can increase efficiency in the use of surfaces and materials, or facilitate a
new way to achieve a function.
© Design Heuristics, LLC 2012
Utilize opposite
surface 76FARALLON CHAIR
fuseproject
The back side of this chair has a pocket
for storage.
980 TATOU
Annika Luber
The laces wrap around the bottom of
this shoe and connect with the sole.
CURATED PRECEDENT ARTIFACTS

20. Utilize opposite
surface 76FARALLON CHAIR
fuseproject
The back side of this chair has a pocket
for storage.
980 TATOU
Annika Luber
The laces wrap around the bottom of
this shoe and connect with the sole.
Utilize opposite
surface 76
Create a distinction between exterior and interior, front and back, or bottom
and top. Make use of both surfaces for complimentary or different functions.
This can increase efficiency in the use of surfaces and materials, or facilitate a
new way to achieve a function.
© Design Heuristics, LLC 2012
INDUCTIVE ARGUMENT BUILDING ON PRECEDENT
CURATORIAL QUALITY

21. Utilize opposite
surface 76
Create a distinction between exterior and interior, front and back, or bottom
and top. Make use of both surfaces for complimentary or different functions.
This can increase efficiency in the use of surfaces and materials, or facilitate a
new way to achieve a function.
© Design Heuristics, LLC 2012
DESIGNER
DESIGN
HEURISTIC
CREATIVE
IDEA
imagines
a gambit
to form a
solution space

22. Utilize opposite
surface 76
Create a distinction between exterior and interior, front and back, or bottom
and top. Make use of both surfaces for complimentary or different functions.
This can increase efficiency in the use of surfaces and materials, or facilitate a
new way to achieve a function.
© Design Heuristics, LLC 2012
DISCIPLINARY
CANON
DISCIPLINARY
CANON

23. Scaffolding of Design Cognition
1. Build students’ knowledge of curated intermediate-level concepts
(e.g., Design Heuristics) alongside organic idea generation
2. Instructionally relate intermediate-level concepts to the design
artifacts being generated
3. Transfer of the intermediate-level knowledge to a new concept in a
different context
4. Internalization of intermediate-level knowledge as a guiding pattern
of internal coherence, organizing and growing conceptual repertoire

24. Utilize opposite
surface 76
Create a distinction between exterior and interior, front and back, or bottom
and top. Make use of both surfaces for complimentary or different functions.
This can increase efficiency in the use of surfaces and materials, or facilitate a
new way to achieve a function.
© Design Heuristics, LLC 2012
DISCIPLINARY
CANON
DISCIPLINARY
CANON
Design Heuristics can enable or hasten the learner’s
trajectory in building awareness of expert-like practices

25. What is a designer thinking
about when engaged in
DESIGN THINKING?

26. DESIGN HEURISTICS
create a conceptual bridge between
design theories and individual
design precedents,
forming a body of intermediate-level
knowledge that is valuable in engineering
design education and practice

27. Thank You
This research is funded by the National Science Foundation, Division of Undergraduate
Education, Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics (TUES Type II) Grants # 1323251 and #1322552.
COLINGRAY.ME DESIGNHEURISTICS.COM