Nature and role of intermediate representations (IR) in the design process: case studies in car design

This paper aims to show the key role of the intermediate representations (IR) in the design process and especially in the car design process. For a better understanding of the concept of design, which is by nature conceptual, we propose to study the concept of IR. To this end, we will present the three following parts: description of IR in the design process; nature of IR; and role of IR in the design process. We chose to illustrate this paper with our experience essentially in car design because the design process in this field is historically formatted and very formalised and complex. Besides, this activity is based on the intervention of many professional teams.