Constructing Design Representations

Supporting the early phases of design requires, among others, support for the specification and use of multiple and evolving representations, and for the exchange of information between these representations. We consider a complex adaptive system as a model for the development of design representations, and present a semi-constructive algebraic formalism for design representations, termed sorts, as a candidate for supporting this approach. We analyze sorts with respect to the requirements of a complex adaptive system and compare it to other representational formalisms that consider a constructive approach to representations.