The relationship between divergent thinking and ideation in the conceptual design process

Past research in design typically postulates a relationship between divergent thinking and ideation, but little or no empirical evidence is available to critically assess the connection between the two. Using protocol analysis of 35 design experiments, this paper constructs a detailed investigation of the ways divergent thinking and ideation occur in the design process. Two measures are extracted from the protocol data – a divergency index (D) and an ideation index (I) – and quantitative comparisons are constructed between the two. Thereafter four types of individual design processes are identified and discussed. The paper concludes that, within the limits of the method used, there is clear evidence connecting divergent thinking and production of ideas.