Foundations and Trends® in Human–Computer Interaction > Vol 2 > Issue 1

Computational Support for Sketching in Design: A Review

By Gabe Johnson, Carnegie Mellon University, USA, johnsogg@cmu.edu | Mark D. Gross, Carnegie Mellon University, USA, mdgross@cmu.edu | Jason Hong, Carnegie Mellon University, USA, jasonh@cs.cmu.edu | Ellen Yi-Luen Do, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, ellendo@gatech.edu

 
Suggested Citation
Gabe Johnson, Mark D. Gross, Jason Hong and Ellen Yi-Luen Do (2009), "Computational Support for Sketching in Design: A Review", Foundations and Trends® in Human–Computer Interaction: Vol. 2: No. 1, pp 1-93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/1100000013

Publication Date: 23 Feb 2009
© 2009 G. Johnson, M. D. Gross, J. Hong and E. Yi-Luen Do
 
Subjects
Design and Evaluation,  Design and fashion
 

Free Preview:

Download extract

Share

Download article
In this article:
1 Introduction 
2 Traditional Sketching 
3 Hardware Support for Sketching 
4 Sketch Recognition Techniques 
5 Interaction in Sketch-Based Software 
6 Challenges and Opportunities 
References 

Abstract

Computational support for sketching is an exciting research area at the intersection of design research, human–computer interaction, and artificial intelligence. Despite the prevalence of software tools, most designers begin their work with physical sketches. Modern computational tools largely treat design as a linear process beginning with a specific problem and ending with a specific solution. Sketch-based design tools offer another approach that may fit design practice better. This review surveys literature related to such tools. First, we describe the practical basis of sketching — why people sketch, what significance it has in design and problem solving, and the cognitive activities it supports. Second, we survey computational support for sketching, including methods for performing sketch recognition and managing ambiguity, techniques for modeling recognizable elements, and human–computer interaction techniques for working with sketches. Last, we propose challenges and opportunities for future advances in this field.

DOI:10.1561/1100000013
ISBN: 978-1-60198-196-7
104 pp. $75.00
Buy book (pb)
 
ISBN: 978-1-60198-197-4
104 pp. $100.00
Buy E-book (.pdf)
Table of contents:
1: Introduction
2: Traditional Sketching
3: Hardware Support for Sketching
4: Sketch Recognition Techniques
5: Interaction in Sketch Based Software
6: Challenges and Opportunities
References

Computational Support for Sketching in Design

Computational support for sketching has a long and interesting history dating back to the early days of computing. Computational Support for Sketching in Design: A Review takes a brief look at the origins and history of the subject before going on to survey the literature from a wide variety of sources on modern sketch based design tools. It first describes the practical basis of sketching - why people sketch, what significance it has in design and problem solving, and the cognitive activities it supports. It goes on to survey computational support for sketching, including methods for performing sketch recognition and managing ambiguity, techniques for modeling recognizable elements, and human-computer interaction techniques for working with sketches. It concludes by proposing challenges and opportunities for future advances in this field. Computational Support for Sketching in Design: A Review is an ideal reference for researchers from the many disciplines - human-computer interaction, cognitive science, design research, computer science, artificial intelligence, and engineering design - that have contributed to the knowledge about sketching and computational techniques for supporting it, or are interested in getting up to speed on the topic.

 
HCI-013