In pursuit of including energy performance as feedback for architects' early stage design decision making, this research presents the theoretical foundation of a designer oriented multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) framework titled evolutionary energy performance feedback for design (EEPFD).
The paper discusses a procedure based on the Taguchi method to orient designers when verifying the influence that each design parameter has on the functional requirements.
One implication is that interior textile design, especially for DfE-oriented designers, involves a holistic approach to the design and development of products, with special emphasis on foundational knowledge, inspiration, and product trends.
When speaking to consumer needs and product trends, all participants acknowledged that understanding consumer needs for aesthetics and performance was central to the design process; however, only DfE-oriented designers explicitly addressed consumers' growing need for sustainable textiles.
Findings revealed DfE-oriented designers and conventional designers did not differ in their design process however, the focus and scope of decision-making within each stage of the design process allowed for an additional component for DfE-oriented designers, thus providing some understanding of how commitment to a DfE orientation may influence the design of interior textile products.
Lastly, findings provide some support for the application of Handfield et al.'s (2001) environmental product design and development model to the experience of DfE-oriented designers of interior textile products.
DfE-oriented designers and conventional designers did not differ in their narratives regarding design process however, the focus and scope of decision-making within each theme or stage allowed for an additional component to the DfE-oriented design and development process of interior textile products.
All designers referenced the importance of inspiration in the design process and there was little difference among conventional and DfE-oriented designers with respect to their sources of inspiration.
The battle will largely pit Microsoft's 2.2 million.Net software developers against the more than one million Adobe Flash developers, who have until now developed principally for the Web, as well as a vast number of other Web-oriented designers who use open-source software development tools that are referred to as AJAX.
"They are incredibly imaginative and detail-oriented designers and often came up with better ideas than we had thought of," said Christine Nakaoka, former vice president for store design at Bergdorf Goodman and the woman who brought Yabu Pushelberg to New York three years ago.
