The many faces of similarity: A visual analytics approach for design space simplification

Abstract

Generative design methods may involve a complex design space with an overwhelming number of alternatives with their form and design performance data. Existing research addresses this complexity by introducing various techniques for simplification through clustering and dimensionality reduction. In this study, we further analyze the relevant literature on design space simplification and exploration to identify their potentials and gaps. We find that the potentials include: alleviating the choice overload problem, opening up new venues for interrelating design forms and data, creating visual overviews of the design space and introducing ways of creating form-driven queries. Building on that, we present the first prototype of a design analytics dashboard that combines coordinated and interactive visualizations of design forms and performance data along with the result of simplifying the design space through hierarchical clustering.