The effects of physical prototyping and group work on the reduction of design fixation

Innovation is important for successful designs, but design fixation likely prevents designers from reaching their innovative potential. Participants in this study were 120 students, 80 of which had design backgrounds. Participants saw an example tool, and then worked alone or in small groups to design two new tools using a construction set. All participants designed two tools: one in a physical prototyping environment and one in an environment without physical prototyping. Results showed that designs were better and contained fewer fixations to the example tool when designed in the physical prototyping environment, but that groups designed better tools than individuals or nominal groups when no physical prototyping was available. These results underscore the importance of physical prototyping in design.

Research highlights
► Designers demonstrate less design fixation when they work with physical materials.
► Designers create better functioning designs when they work with physical materials.
► Groups design better than individuals, but only when physical materials are absent.