COMPUTER AIDED ABSTRACT REASONING FOR CONCEPTUAL DESIGN

THERE IS LITTLE OR NO COMPUTER SUPPORT FOR THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN PROCESS, SINCE THIS PROCESS HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN CATEGORIZED AS "ART." THE ARTIST IS UNLIMITED IN HIS CREATIVITY, AND ANY CONCEPTUAL DESIGN SOFTWARE MUST NOT LIMIT THE CREATIVE PROCESS. FOR THIS REASON, THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN PROCESS HAS NOT YET BENEFITED FROM RECENT RAPID ADVANCES IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY. WE BELIEVE THAT FLEXIBLE ENOUGH SOFTWARE WOULD NOT ONLY ENABLE THE DESIGNER TO BE MORE EFFICIENT WITH HIS IDEAS, BUT WOULD ALSO STIMULATE THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN WAYS NOT TRADITIONALLY AVAILABLE. MARBLE ASSOCIATES, INC., PROPOSES TO CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITIES OF USING COMPUTERS TO SUPPORT THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN PROCESS. WE WILL PROVIDE A SUMMARY OF THE CURRENT STATE OF THE ART IN THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN PROCESS, FOLLOWED BY A FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATION FOR A COMPUTER GRAPHICSORIENTED WORKSTATION BASED CONCEPTUAL DESIGN STUDIO.