Towards a theory of creativity for engineering design

This paper presents the foundations of a new semiotic theory of creativity for engineering design. Beginning from reviewing various approaches to studying the human ability to create, the paper goes on to explain creativity as an ongoing process of semiosis, which can, in principle, be modeled with computers. A mathematical model of the creative process is described that provides guidelines for the development of computer systems intended for enhancing the human creative potential. Creative analogical reasoning is then interpreted in terms of the model, and an illustrative historical example from engineering design is considered. Finally, emergence and some other creativity-related phenomena are discussed