Adaptive design expertise: A theory of design thinking and innovation

Innovation and creativity, though universally understood to be critical if not defining elements of design activity, frequently appear in models of practice and instruction as admonitions to "Be Creative" and to "Think Outside of the Box." In the same way, the existing models of design elevate and encourage adaptive and strategic design thinking yet offer little guidance or insight into their actual mechanism or development. The models and methods they present neglect the thoughtful means by which these important tools might be best selected, controlled and exploited. In recognition of this need, the Theory of Adaptive Design Expertise was developed to fully capture the dynamic, human and adaptive nature of the design process. Its focus is not on the explication of process stages or the prescription of methods but rather the nature and nurture of design thinking. In particular, I propose three dimensions that identify elements of design thinking, presenting a framework in which design thinking expertise is described, examined and ultimately encouraged and enabled. I term these three dimensions the active, the abstractive and the adaptive . The active dimension, built on theories of intellectual development, characterizes the designer's ability to think actively and independently. The abstractive dimension characterizes the ability of the designer to engage in reflective, complex and abstract thought. The adaptive dimension characterizes the designer's ability, to strategically shift between the thinking skills and levels represented in the active and abstractive dimensions as a function of external stimuli and internal direction. Each of these dimensions is expressed in terms, not of a single idealized state, but as a series of progressive stages intended to capture a developmental and applicative continuum.