Evolving representations of design cases and their use in creative design

Abstract: In case-based design, the adaptation of a design case to new design requirements plays an important role. If it is sufficient to adapt a predefined set of design parameters, the task is easily automated. If, however, more far-reaching, creative changes are required, current systems provide only limited success. This paper describes an approach to creative design adaptation based on the notion of creativity as 'goal oriented shift of focus of a search process'. An evolving representation is used to restructure the search space so that designs similar to the example case lie in the focus of the search. This focus is than used as a starting point to generate new designs.