framework for the implementation of a virtual design studio model in ...

design problems and finding a way to balance divergent and convergent
thinking abilities.
Solving design problems thus requires both methods of thinking. De
Bono uses the symbol of hats to tackle each situation using creativity
where each hat represents a certain way of thinking and dealing with the
situation in hand. While Cooper 191 claims that the use of metaphor in
design is limiting and can harm the design product. Others 192,193 assert
that its use can help designers to understand complicated design
situations, think unconventionally, and encourage the application of
novel design ideas. Burke 194 defines metaphor as “a mechanism that
enables its user to see things to represent other things. It brings out the
thisness of that or the thatness of this”. Lakoff and Johnson 195 relate
metaphors to our cognitive system:
“Our conceptual system … is fundamentally metaphoric in nature”.
They assert that metaphor is not just about language; it is a way of
thinking “in the way that we conceptualise one domain in terms of the
other”. 196 Using metaphors in design can help the student generate new
and creative ideas and innovations. In a recent study, Casakin 197
pinpoints the use of metaphors and how it helps the designer to identify
and capture design concepts, and establish their goals and
requirements.
“Metaphorical reasoning is an iterative process through which designers
gradually increase their knowledge of a design situation. Basically, the
use of metaphors aids in structuring design problems” 198 .
191 Cooper, Alan. (1995). The myth of metaphor’ Visual Basic Programmer’s Journal.
192 Casakin H. P. (2007). ‘Metaphors in design problem solving: implications for creativity’. International
Journal of Design. 1(2), p22-33.
193 Hutchins, E. (1989) ‘Metaphors for interface design’ in Taylor, M.M., Néel, F., and Bouwhuis, D.G.
(eds.), the Structure of Multimodal Dialogue. New York: Elsevier Science Publishers.
194 Burke, Kenneth. (1945) A Grammar of Motives and a Rhetoric of Motives, University of California
Press.
195 Lakoff, George and Johnson, Mark. (1980) Metaphors We Live By, University of Chicago Press.
196 Lakoff, George. (1993) ‘The contemporary theory of metaphor’ in Ortony, Andrew (ed.), Metaphor
and Thought, Second Edition, Cambridge University Press.
197 Casakin H. P. (2007). op.cit. p22-33.
198 Ibid. p22-33.
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