Improvisation principles and techniques for design

ABSTRACT

Existing research addresses how designers create tools to support improvisation, yet little research explores how improvisation offers tools to support design work. This paper explores the potential relationship between improvisation and design, examining how design can benefit from improvisation. The paper argues that improvisation can build perspectives and skills that are critical for designers, such as creative collaboration, fostering innovation, supporting spontaneity, learning through error, and presenting ideas. The paper reviews the use of improvisation activities by designers in a multi-case study. The applications are analyzed to demonstrate individual and group level outcomes in design work.

REFERENCES

• 1: Brandt, E. & Grunnet, C. Evoking the future: Drama and props in user centered design. In Proc. Participatory Design Conference, (2000), 11--20.
• 2: N. Bryan-Kinns, Daisyphone: the design and impact of a novel environment for remote group music improvisation, Proceedings of the 5th conference on Designing interactive systems: processes, practices, methods, and techniques, August 01-04, 2004, Cambridge, MA, USA [doi>10.1145/1013115.1013135]
• 3: Marion Buchenau , Jane Fulton Suri, Experience prototyping, Proceedings of the 3rd conference on Designing interactive systems: processes, practices, methods, and techniques, p.424-433, August 17-19, 2000, New York City, New York, United States [doi>10.1145/347642.347802]
• 4: Johnstone.K. Impro: Improvation and the Theatre. Methuen Publishing, London, 1989.
• 5: Kari Kuutti , Giulio Iacucci , Carlo Iacucci, Acting to know: improving creativity in the design of mobile services by using performances, Proceedings of the 4th conference on Creativity & cognition, p.95-102, October 13-16, 2002, Loughborough, UK [doi>10.1145/581710.581726]
• 6: Sutton, R., Hargadon. Brainstorming Groups in Context: Effectiveness in a Product Design Firm. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41, 4 (1996), 685--718.
• 7: William F. Walker, A computer participant in musical improvisation, Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, p.123-130, March 22-27, 1997, Atlanta, Georgia, United States [doi>10.1145/258549.258629]

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.3 Group and Organization Interfaces

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Management, Performance

Keywords:
collaboration, design, improvisation