Information Entropy in the Design Process

Abstract

In this paper the design process is viewed as a process of increasing the information of the product/system. Therefore, it is natural to investigate the design process from an information theoretical point of view. The design information entropy is introduced as a state that reflects both complexity and refinement, and it is argued that it can be useful as some measure of design effort and design quality. The concept of design information entropy also provides a sound base for defining creativity as the process of selecting areas for expanding the design space in useful direction, “to think outside the box”, while the automated activity of design optimization is focused, so far, on concept refinement, within a confined design space. In this paper the theory is illustrated on the conceptual design of an unmanned aircraft, going through concept generation, concept selection, and parameter optimization.