FORM FOLLOWS FORM - IS A NEW PARADIGM NEEDED?

This paper presents a new form-based concept generation technique known as Form Follows Form (FFF). The technique allows a novice engineer or designer to use natural language to specify components envisioned within a product to initiate a more thorough concept generation process. Form follows form takes the initial component solution and then formulates the underlying function structure by leveraging a repository of over 5500 artifacts. Existing computational conceptual design methods are then employed to automatically display a set of ranked concept alternatives to the user. Users can choose from two different levels of interaction, an automatic mode that uses the most common functions to develop concept alternatives, or a mode that allows the user to be more precise in defining a product's interaction. The computational algorithms and grammar rules are detailed along with a case study using both tiers of interaction.