Abstract

Categorization can be understood as an analytical decision-making process that involves identifying key features and grouping concepts, experiences, and all kind of stimuli in categories at appropriate levels of abstraction. When studying existing products, designers examine their characteristics and bring to the fore their distinctive qualities and functions. Categorizing products, design problems, or elements of any kind is a useful method that helps designers to document existing solutions or trends, study their distinctions attributes, and identify novel design opportunities. Such a classification can be enriched by including specific product information and visuals, thus transforming the categorization tool into a structured index according to analytical and organizational principles. Once established, these categorizations can be helpful during the subsequent ideation process, especially when combined with other techniques, such as forced morphology. Elaborate categorization systems can provide a synthetic overview of a myriad of existing solutions represented by prototypes, stimulate the creative process, and support the emergence of innovation. This article demonstrates the potential of Rosch’s categorization as an analytical tool that supports design thinking and idea generation, which allows one to organize and visualize information according to a structured semantic logic, to compare it, and to identify missing or non-existent solutions. Examples provided in this research validate its innovation potential for a set design problem, for instance by merging functions or imagining unique and unexpected configurations.