Reflecting on Reflection in Creative Design

Reflection is an integral part of the creative design process. However, details of designers??? reflective practices are less known, painting reflection as an enigmatic, un-orderly, and irregular process. This also resulted in design tools that offer little support for facilitating reflective activities. In this paper we discuss findings from our study of creative designers??? reflective practice, aiming to understand the details of process of reflection, tools and techniques utilized, and needs surrounding this process. Through a set of contextual interviews (N=12) we found that reflection is predominantly an intentional, repetitive, and frequently practiced activity and designers have specific goals that trigger reflection. Additionally, we found that novel representations of design activities and artifacts can play an imperative role in supporting reflection. We also offer guidelines for the design of better reflection support tools.unpublishednot peer reviewe