The Epistemic Role of Artefacts in Creative Design and Knowledge Creation
Year: 2011
Editor: Kovacevic, Ahmed, Ion, William, McMahon, Chris, Buck, Lyndon and Hogarth, Peter
Author: Richter, Christoph; Allert, Heidrun
Series: E&PDE
Section: Creativity in Design Education
Page(s): 103-108
Abstract
Although the crucial role of shared artefacts as a means to create common understanding, to ground discourse and to pursue novel ideas has been widely recognized, the concept of artefact appears to be under-articulated as it often limits artefacts to mere carriers of information. This paper is an attempt to depart from this notion and to draft a conceptual framework of the various epistemic roles artefacts fill in different activities and how these are shaped by the material and sign-related propertis of the various media used. To illustrate the intricate interplay of epistemic processes and the kind of arteface used, we provide examples taken from courses in the fields of engineering and design-education.
Keywords: design artefacts, inquiry, creativity