Investigating the relationship between imagery and rationale in design

Artifacts can be used to inspire, guide, and create new designs. As approaches to design can range from focusing on inspiration to formalized reasoning, we seek to create and study artifacts that combine the use of images and rationale. In this paper, we contribute an understanding of the relationship between imagery and rationale through an investigation of an artifact made of both. Through a study of group design sessions, we find images can provide access to rationale, moments of inspiration can be balanced with rationale, and differences between images and rationale must be reconciled. We conclude with thoughts on how such artifacts might be leveraged by the design community.