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Demystifying Tacit Knowledge in Graphic Design: Characteristics, Instances, Approaches, and Guidelines

Kihoon Son, DaEun Choi, Tae Soo Kim, Juho Kim

TL;DR

This paper tackles the challenge of tacit knowledge in graphic design, where non-verbal know-how is hard to share. It combines a literature-based taxonomy of tacit knowledge with an empirical study of 10 designers to collect 123 tacit knowledge instances, analyzed via element–action–purpose coding. A systematic literature review then maps how existing graphic-design approaches cover these instances, revealing gaps in cognition, inner design elements, and audience/visual purposes. The authors propose two sets of design guidelines—one to capture tacit knowledge from experienced designers and another to help designers without tacit knowledge apply it in tools—along with implications for learning-by-doing and over-the-shoulder learning. Overall, the work advances understanding of tacit knowledge in design and provides concrete directions for tool designers to enable sharing and applying tacit design know-how.

Abstract

Despite the growing demand for professional graphic design knowledge, the tacit nature of design inhibits knowledge sharing. However, there is a limited understanding on the characteristics and instances of tacit knowledge in graphic design. In this work, we build a comprehensive set of tacit knowledge characteristics through a literature review. Through interviews with 10 professional graphic designers, we collected 123 tacit knowledge instances and labeled their characteristics. By qualitatively coding the instances, we identified the prominent elements, actions, and purposes of tacit knowledge. To identify which instances have been addressed the least, we conducted a systematic literature review of prior system support to graphic design. By understanding the reasons for the lack of support on these instances based on their characteristics, we propose design guidelines for capturing and applying tacit knowledge in design tools. This work takes a step towards understanding tacit knowledge, and how this knowledge can be communicated.

Demystifying Tacit Knowledge in Graphic Design: Characteristics, Instances, Approaches, and Guidelines

TL;DR

This paper tackles the challenge of tacit knowledge in graphic design, where non-verbal know-how is hard to share. It combines a literature-based taxonomy of tacit knowledge with an empirical study of 10 designers to collect 123 tacit knowledge instances, analyzed via element–action–purpose coding. A systematic literature review then maps how existing graphic-design approaches cover these instances, revealing gaps in cognition, inner design elements, and audience/visual purposes. The authors propose two sets of design guidelines—one to capture tacit knowledge from experienced designers and another to help designers without tacit knowledge apply it in tools—along with implications for learning-by-doing and over-the-shoulder learning. Overall, the work advances understanding of tacit knowledge in design and provides concrete directions for tool designers to enable sharing and applying tacit design know-how.

Abstract

Despite the growing demand for professional graphic design knowledge, the tacit nature of design inhibits knowledge sharing. However, there is a limited understanding on the characteristics and instances of tacit knowledge in graphic design. In this work, we build a comprehensive set of tacit knowledge characteristics through a literature review. Through interviews with 10 professional graphic designers, we collected 123 tacit knowledge instances and labeled their characteristics. By qualitatively coding the instances, we identified the prominent elements, actions, and purposes of tacit knowledge. To identify which instances have been addressed the least, we conducted a systematic literature review of prior system support to graphic design. By understanding the reasons for the lack of support on these instances based on their characteristics, we propose design guidelines for capturing and applying tacit knowledge in design tools. This work takes a step towards understanding tacit knowledge, and how this knowledge can be communicated.
Paper Structure (44 sections, 2 figures, 5 tables)

This paper contains 44 sections, 2 figures, 5 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Work
  3. Knowledge Sharing Methods in Design Field
  4. Tacit Nature of Design Knowledge
  5. Method Overview and Research Questions
  6. Goals and Research Questions
  7. Definition of Terms
  8. Research Procedure Overview
  9. Compiling Characteristics of Tacit Knowledge Through a Literature Review
  10. Tacit Knowledge Characteristics
  11. Search Keywords and Exclusion Criteria
  12. Coding Process of Tacit Knowledge Characteristics
  13. Interview Study with Professional Graphic Designers
  14. Interview Study
  15. Interviewees and Recruitment
  16. ...and 29 more sections

Figures (2)

  • Figure 1: Research overview. The diagram illustrates the overall research process of this work. Each research step is depicted, with specific sections marked corresponding to the description of each stage.
  • Figure 2: Annotation analysis results of tacit knowledge characteristics. The chart shows how many annotations are obtained from the 10 graphic designers in each category of element, action, and purpose as a ratio (the calculation method is in Section \ref{['section_characteristicsanalysismethod']}. The legend of (a) to (d) indicates each category of \ref{['tab:tacit-characteristics-list']}.