Exploring Designers’ Patterns of Design Thinking: A Study of Functional Component Clustering in Conceptual Design

This study explores the design thinking patterns of designers in design tasks. It proposes a functional component clustering model based on morphological analysis through experimental analysis. The experiment involved 57 novice designers with engineering or design backgrounds, who were required to independently complete the design task of a disposable leak-proof coffee cup. A total of 570 design solutions were collected and analyzed. Utilizing morphological analysis, the target product was decomposed into multiple design ontology. Functional components were matched through their input and output design flows to form chain combinations that meet the functional requirements of the design task. The results indicate that designers can form design clusters through chain combinations of functional components, thereby generating diverse design solutions during the conceptual design phase. Additionally, this study introduces a method for combining chained design components. This method clarifies the connection rules between functional components and provides designers with a clear framework to enhance design efficiency and innovation. This research offers a new perspective for understanding the design thinking patterns of designers during the design process and provides an effective support method for design innovation.