Representation in collective design: Are there differences between expert designers and the crowd?

Abstract

This paper tests if a web-based crowd would, in comparison with an expert benchmark group, exhibit observable differences and similarities when they interact with varying forms of representation. The study uses an adapted online environment to provide the necessary decentralised and open conditions to support collective activity. The methodology uses semiotics to comparatively describe the processes both qualitatively and quantitatively. This paper presents the general findings of an analysis using data collected from a permanently open two-week design session. Comparisons with an expert benchmark group reveal how crowds engage with representational imagery to communicate design information in an openly shared and decentralised web based collective design context.