Fixation and distraction in creative design: the repercussions of reviewing patent documents to avoid infringement

Abstract

It is common to conduct a patent search when designing new products for commercial purposes. This paper examines whether reviewing patent documents to avoid infringement can affect design creativity based on an experimental study involving 106 undergraduate engineering students. As part of the study, the participants were divided into three groups and asked to individually design a water kettle in 20 min. Participants from the first group were each given an identical patent document at the start of the experiment and were warned not to infringe the patented design. Participants from the second group were each given another patent document and the same warning. Participants from the third group were not given any patent documentation. The experiment results show that reviewing patent documents prior to ideation, even when done to avoid infringement, can fixate and lead to the inclusion of design features associated with the patent documents reviewed. In addition, reviewing patent documents can also cause distractions and result in the exclusion of design features that may otherwise be included. The findings of this work can contribute towards design pedagogy and the development of processes to handle patent documents in design projects.