This study investigates the effects of prior intentions and intentions in action during the initial stage of a process of design in search of correlations between these cognitive processes and the quality of the design outcomes. We found that the quality of the outcomes was not influenced by sketching. Nevertheless, most of the participants said that they preferred sketching, and their verbal reports can be seen as indicative of the formation of prior intentions. Therefore, we argue that prior intentions have an important role even within a process of pure material engagement. This has important implications for understanding the active role of human agency and our capacity to form prior intentions with pragmatic effects in the world.

Agency, prior intentions, intentions in action, pictorial representations, material agency, design semiotics, design research, cognitive semiotics, 4E cognition
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© 2024 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2024
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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