Abstract
Design activities rely on external representations to offload cognitive effort and communicate ideas. These representations, ranging from sketches to virtual reality (VR), influence cognitive processes and perceptual outcomes. This study investigates the impact of different media representations on brain activity by comparing neural responses to design representations in VR and desktop monitor conditions. Utilizing brain network analyses derived from EEG signals in alpha, beta, gamma, and theta bands, results demonstrate that VR elicits greater cognitive integration and sensory engagement. These patterns suggest that VR facilitates holistic evaluations, while desktop representations support precision-focused tasks. These findings provide actionable guidance for optimizing design media selection based on cognitive objectives and contribute to the emerging design neurocognition field.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 751-760 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the Design Society |
| Volume | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 27 Aug 2025 |
| Event | 25th International Conference on Engineering Design - UT Dallas, Dallas, United States Duration: 11 Aug 2025 → 14 Aug 2025 https://iced.designsociety.org/ |
Funding
This work was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF- 2020R1I1A1A01073447). Part of this research was funded by a grant from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to J. S. G., grant number EEC-1929896.
Keywords
- human behaviour in design
- workspaces for design
- virtual reality