From Divergence to Alignment: Diagrammatic Thinking Across Industrial Design, Engineering, and Marketing

Abstract

In industrial product development, effective collaboration among designers, engineers, and marketers is crucial, yet is frequently challenged by fundamentally divergent mental models of how a product should function, appear, and succeed in the market. Each discipline interprets and communicates design intent through distinct visual and cognitive frameworks, including conceptual sketches, technical schematics, customer journey maps, and market flows. This article investigates how these disciplinary perspectives manifest in visual thinking practices and how shared diagramming tools function as mediators or points of friction within multidisciplinary teams. The study maps the interplay between mental models and representational practices by drawing on literature from design cognition, visual semiotics, systems thinking, and empirical observations from collaborative design settings. It further explores how misalignments impact decision-making, innovation, and project coherence. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of visual mediation as a critical factor in collaborative product development and propose strategies for aligning cognitive and visual frameworks to improve interdisciplinary communication and design outcomes.

Keywords

• Industrial product development
• Visual Thinking
• Mental Models
• Multidisciplinary Collaboration
• Diagrammatic Representation
• Boundary Objects
• Interpretive Friction

Farklılıktan Uyuma: Endüstriyel Tasarım, Mühendislik ve Pazarlama Disiplinlerinde Diyagramlarla Düşünme

Abstract

Endüstriyel ürün geliştirme sürecinde, tasarımcılar, mühendisler ve pazarlamacılar arasındaki etkili iş birliği büyük önem taşır; ancak bir ürünün nasıl çalışması, nasıl görünmesi ve pazarda nasıl başarılı olması gerektiğine dair kökten farklı zihinsel modeller nedeniyle bu iş birliği sıklıkla zorluklarla karşılaşır. Her disiplin, tasarım niyetini kavramsal eskizler, teknik şemalar, müşteri yolculuğu haritaları ve pazar akışları gibi kendine özgü görsel ve bilişsel çerçeveler aracılığıyla yorumlar ve aktarır. Bu makale, disiplinler arası bakış açılarını görsel düşünme pratiklerinde nasıl tezahür ettirdiğini ve paylaşılan diyagram araçlarının çok disiplinli ekipler içinde birer arabulucu mu yoksa sürtüşme noktası mı olduğunu araştırmaktadır. Çalışma, zihinsel modeller ile temsil pratikleri arasındaki etkileşimi tasarım bilişi, görsel göstergebilim, sistem düşüncesi ve iş birliğine dayalı tasarım ortamlarından elde edilen ampirik gözlemler ışığında haritalandırmaktadır. Ayrıca, bu uyumsuzlukların karar alma süreçleri, yenilikçilik ve proje bütünlüğü üzerindeki etkilerini incelemektedir. Bulgular, görsel aracılığın ortak ürün geliştirme süreçlerinde kritik bir faktör olarak daha derinlemesine anlaşılmasına katkı sağlamakta ve bilişsel ve görsel çerçevelerin hizalanmasına yönelik stratejiler önererek disiplinler arası iletişimi ve tasarım çıktılarının niteliğini artırmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

• Endüstriyel ürün geliştirme
• Görsel düşünme
• Zihinsel modeller
• Disiplinlerarası iş birliği
• Diyagramlarla temsil
• Sınır nesneleri
• Yoruma dayalı sürtüşme

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