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Time & Society
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The Present is Less than the Future

Mental Experimentation and Temporal Exploration in Design Work

Christina Hellström

Department of Psychology at Göteborg University, christina.hellstrom{at}psy.gu.se

Tomas Hellström

Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy at the Copenhagen Business School, the.lpf{at}cbs.dk

This article explores the dimensions of time and temporality in the context of product design. The study builds on a phenomenological approach, where in-depth, explorative interviews with six product designers were conducted. The results provide insights into how the designers use mental experimentation and imagination by actively envisioning various futures, or `possible worlds' in the design process, and how they use these temporal explorations in conceiving of novel design concepts. Apart from temporality figuring as the designer drawing actively on past experiences, we were able to discern two additional cognitive factors affecting how designers use temporality: by projecting a future goal; and by investing this goal or image with an emotional loading, i.e. by `emoting a vision of the future'. Finally, these results are used to extend current thinking on the role of time and temporality in design processes, and suggest a line of further inquiry into the significance of affective dispositions and moods on temporal orientation in other creative contexts.

Key Words: design • mental experimentation • temporal orientation • time

Time & Society, Vol. 12, No. 2-3, 263-279 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0961463X030122006
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