Reasoning processes involved in ICT-mediated design communication

Conversational interaction is central to architectural design practice. New information and communication technologies (ICT) change the designer's traditional way of communicating and interacting. In this paper we investigate how communication in the design process might be supported using ICT. With this aim, we study a text-based Skype conversation between a design teacher and a design student. We consider this conversation as part of an architectural design process and analyse it using linkography. From the linkograph analysis, specific features are identified that apply specifically to text-based Skype interactions. We conclude that online text-based Skype interaction can be one of the many possible interactions by means of communication media (sketching, conversation, modelling, and so forth) during the design process, and provides a distinct set of characteristics that might be considered by the designer.