My primary research area explores the role of sketching in engineering design. This includes evaluating how the use of digital tablets for sketching in early stage design influences eventual design outcomes. This work has also explored how iterative sketching activities may help students embrace failure.
As part of this work, I have established a new sketch metric, “understandability,” that evaluates how effective a sketch is at communicating a particular concept.
I have also run a series of studies exploring differences in digital and analog sketching in the context of the ideation process.
Results indicate that sketch quantity and understandability do not differ between the two tools. However, the sketch quality of paper and pen sketches is higher than that of tablet sketches. Additionally, there may be differences in concept generation patterns between the two tools, in particular, the way in which designers' ideas evolve throughout the ideation process
Publications from this work include:
Madhurima Das, May Huang, Maria C. Yang, “Paper or Tablet? The Impact of Digital Tools on Sketching During Engineering Design Concept Generation,” ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, under review
Madhurima Das, May Huang, Christine Xu, and Maria C. Yang, “The Influence of Digital Sketching Tools on Concept Novelty and Evolution,” ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, in revisions
Madhurima Das and Maria C. Yang, “Assessing Early Stage Design Sketches And Reflections On Prototyping,” ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, April 2022; 144(4): 041403. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4053463
Madhurima Das and Maria C. Yang, “Building Confidence and Embracing Failure through Sketching Practice,” International Journal of Engineering Education, January 2022; 38(6), pp. 1779-1790.
Madhurima Das, May Huang, Maria C. Yang, “Paper or Tablet? The Impact of Digital Tools on Sketching During Engineering Design Concept Generation,” ASME IDETC-CIE Conference, Design Theory and Methodology (DTM) Division, August 2023
Madhurima Das, May Huang, Maria C. Yang, “Tablets, Pens, and Pencils: The Influence of Tools on Sketching in Early Stage Design,” ASME IDETC-CIE Conference, Design Theory and Methodology (DTM) Division, August 2022
Madhurima Das, Maria C. Yang, “Assessing Early Stage Design Sketches And Reflections On Prototyping,” ASME IDETC-CIE Conference, Design Theory and Methodology (DTM) Division, August 2021. Nominated for Design Theory and Methodology Best Paper Award
Madhurima Das, Maria C. Yang, “Design Experiences as Pathways for Embracing Failure,” ASME IDETC-CIE Conference, Design Education (DEC) Division, August 2021