C-K Theory
Encyclopedia
C-K design theory or concept-knowledge theory is both a design theory and a theory of reasoning in design. It defines design reasoning as a logic of expansion processes, i.e. a logic that organizes the generation of unknown objects. The theory builds on several traditions of design theory, including systematic design, axiomatic design
, creativity
theories, general design theories, and artificial intelligence
-based design models. Claims made for C-K design theory include that it is the first design theory that:
The name of the theory is based on its central premises: the distinction between two spaces:
The process of design
is defined as a double expansion of the C and K spaces through the application of four types of operators: C→C, C→K, K→C, K→K
The first draft of C-K theory was sketched by Armand Hatchuel, and then developed by Hatchuel and his colleague, Benoît Weil. Recent publications explain C-K theory and its practical application in different industries. C-K theory is a research field and a teaching area in several academic institutions in France
, Switzerland
, Israel
, the UK, the USA, and Sweden
.
C-K theory claims to have overcome these three limitations. It uses an approach which is non domain-dependent and that allows acting on unknown objects, and changes of the definitions of known objects during the process (revision of objects' identities).
or problem-solving. Concepts assert the existence of an unknown object that presents some properties desired by the designer. Concepts can be partitioned or included, but not searched nor explored.
The process can be synthesized through a design square. One design solution for a first concept C0 will be a path in the C-space that forms a new proposition in K. There may exist several design paths for the same C0.
Crazy concepts
Crazy concepts are concepts that seem absurd as an exploration path in a design process. Both C-K theory and practical applications have shown that crazy concepts can benefit the global design process by adding extra knowledge, not to be used to pursue that "crazy concept" design path, but to be used to further define a more "sensible concept" and lead to its eventual conjunction. The following image is a graphical representation of this process.
Design creativity
The creative aspect of Design results from two distinct expansions: C-expansions which may be seen as "new ideas", and K-expansions which are necessary to validate these ideas or to expand them towards successful designs.
Unification of design theories
Domain dependent design theories are built on some specific structure of the K-space, either by assuming that some objects have invariant definitions and properties (like in all engineering fields), or by assuming that the K-space presents some stable structure (e.g. that the functions of an object can be defined independently from its technical realization, as in systematic design theory).
Theory of design
At The Design Society
's 2009 International Conference on Engineering Design, an awarded-paper links scientific discovery and design process using C-K theory as a formal framework. It is suggested that a science of design is possible, and complementary to the more traditional bounded rationality
.
Mathematical modelling
Mathematical approaches to design have been developed since the 1960s by scholars such as Christopher Alexander
, Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, Dan Braha and Yoram Reich. They tended to model the dynamic co-evolution between design solutions and requirements. Within the field of engineering design, C-K theory opens new modelling directions that explore connections with basic issues in logic and mathematics; these are different from the classic use of scientific models in design. It has been argued that C-K theory has analogies with forcing
in set theory
, and with intuitionistic mathematics.
Industrial applications
C-K theory has been applied in several industrial contexts since 1998, mainly in France
, Sweden
and Germany
. It is generally used as a method that increases the innovative capacity of design and R&D departments
. C-K theory has also inspired new management principles for collaborative innovation, with the aim of overcoming the limitations of standard design management methods.
Axiomatic design
Axiomatic design is a systems design methodology using matrix methods to systematically analyze the transformation of customer needs into functional requirements, design parameters, and process variables....
, creativity
Creativity
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...
theories, general design theories, and artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
-based design models. Claims made for C-K design theory include that it is the first design theory that:
- Offers a comprehensive formalization of design that is independent of any design domain or object
- Explains invention, creation, and discovery within the same framework and as design processes.
The name of the theory is based on its central premises: the distinction between two spaces:
- a space of concepts C
- a space of knowledge K.
The process of design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
is defined as a double expansion of the C and K spaces through the application of four types of operators: C→C, C→K, K→C, K→K
The first draft of C-K theory was sketched by Armand Hatchuel, and then developed by Hatchuel and his colleague, Benoît Weil. Recent publications explain C-K theory and its practical application in different industries. C-K theory is a research field and a teaching area in several academic institutions in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, the UK, the USA, and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Genesis of C-K theory
It was a response to three perceived limitations of existing design theories:- Design theory when assimilated to problem solvingProblem solvingProblem solving is a mental process and is part of the larger problem process that includes problem finding and problem shaping. Consideredthe most complex of all intellectual functions, problem solving has been defined as higher-order cognitive process that requires the modulation and control of...
theory is unable to account for innovative aspects of design. - Classic design theories dependent on object domains, machine design, architecture or industrial design favored design theories that were tailored to their specific knowledge bases and contexts. Without a unified design theory these fields experience difficulties over cooperation in real design situations.
- Design theories and creativity theories have been developed as separate fields of research. But design theory should include the creative, surprising and serendipitous aspects of design; while creativity theories have been unable to account for intentional inventive processes common in design fields..
C-K theory claims to have overcome these three limitations. It uses an approach which is non domain-dependent and that allows acting on unknown objects, and changes of the definitions of known objects during the process (revision of objects' identities).
Structure of C-K theory
The core idea behind C-K theory is to define rigorously a design situation. A brief is an incomplete description of objects that do not exist yet and are still partly unknown. The first step in C-K theory is to define a brief as a concept, through the introduction of a formal distinction between concept and knowledge spaces; the second step is to characterize the operators that are needed between these two spaces.Knowledge
The knowledge space is defined as a set of propositions with a logical status, according to the knowledge available to the designer or the group of designers. The knowledge space (i.e. K-Space) describes all objects and truths that are established from the point of view of the designer. Then K-Space is expandable as new truths may appear in it as an effect of the design process. Conversely, the structure and properties of the K-Space have a major influence on the process..Concept
A concept is defined as a proposition without a logical status in the K-Space. A central finding of C-K theory is that concepts are the necessary departure point of a design process. Without concepts, design reduces to standard optimizationOptimization (mathematics)
In mathematics, computational science, or management science, mathematical optimization refers to the selection of a best element from some set of available alternatives....
or problem-solving. Concepts assert the existence of an unknown object that presents some properties desired by the designer. Concepts can be partitioned or included, but not searched nor explored.
C-K operators
Building on these premises, C-K theory shows the design process as the result of four operators: C→K, K→C, C→C, K→K.- The initial concept is partitioned using propositions from K: K→C
- These partitions add new properties to the concepts and create new concepts: C→C
- Thanks to a conjunction C→K this expansion of C may in return provoke the expansion of the K space: K→K
The process can be synthesized through a design square. One design solution for a first concept C0 will be a path in the C-space that forms a new proposition in K. There may exist several design paths for the same C0.
Central findings
The following graphical representation summarises the design process using C-K theory.Crazy concepts
Crazy concepts are concepts that seem absurd as an exploration path in a design process. Both C-K theory and practical applications have shown that crazy concepts can benefit the global design process by adding extra knowledge, not to be used to pursue that "crazy concept" design path, but to be used to further define a more "sensible concept" and lead to its eventual conjunction. The following image is a graphical representation of this process.
Design creativity
The creative aspect of Design results from two distinct expansions: C-expansions which may be seen as "new ideas", and K-expansions which are necessary to validate these ideas or to expand them towards successful designs.
Unification of design theories
Domain dependent design theories are built on some specific structure of the K-space, either by assuming that some objects have invariant definitions and properties (like in all engineering fields), or by assuming that the K-space presents some stable structure (e.g. that the functions of an object can be defined independently from its technical realization, as in systematic design theory).
Theory of design
At The Design Society
The Design Society
The Design Society, which was founded in 2000, is an international non-governmental, non-profit making organisation whose members share a common interest in design...
's 2009 International Conference on Engineering Design, an awarded-paper links scientific discovery and design process using C-K theory as a formal framework. It is suggested that a science of design is possible, and complementary to the more traditional bounded rationality
Bounded rationality
Bounded rationality is the idea that in decision making, rationality of individuals is limited by the information they have, the cognitive limitations of their minds, and the finite amount of time they have to make a decision...
.
Mathematical modelling
Mathematical approaches to design have been developed since the 1960s by scholars such as Christopher Alexander
Christopher Alexander
Christopher Wolfgang Alexander is a registered architect noted for his theories about design, and for more than 200 building projects in California, Japan, Mexico and around the world...
, Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, Dan Braha and Yoram Reich. They tended to model the dynamic co-evolution between design solutions and requirements. Within the field of engineering design, C-K theory opens new modelling directions that explore connections with basic issues in logic and mathematics; these are different from the classic use of scientific models in design. It has been argued that C-K theory has analogies with forcing
Forcing (mathematics)
In the mathematical discipline of set theory, forcing is a technique invented by Paul Cohen for proving consistency and independence results. It was first used, in 1963, to prove the independence of the axiom of choice and the continuum hypothesis from Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory...
in set theory
Set theory
Set theory is the branch of mathematics that studies sets, which are collections of objects. Although any type of object can be collected into a set, set theory is applied most often to objects that are relevant to mathematics...
, and with intuitionistic mathematics.
Industrial applications
C-K theory has been applied in several industrial contexts since 1998, mainly in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is generally used as a method that increases the innovative capacity of design and R&D departments
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
. C-K theory has also inspired new management principles for collaborative innovation, with the aim of overcoming the limitations of standard design management methods.