Two studies tested whether introducing images to designers during the design
process lead to more useful design solutions as evaluated by the end-users
willingness-to-use the final design. It was hypothesized based on theories in
cognitive science and design that there were at least two paths from images to
usefulness. One path concerns analogically transferring within-domain
properties to the design solution. The other path concerns mentally simulating
end-user characteristics and preferences and inclusion of the user in the
resulting design. Study 1 supported that random images led to increased
outcome usefulness, and supported both hypothesized paths, by using withindomain
products and end-user images as input. Study 2 showed that the image
categories competed for attention, and that the within-domain product stimuli
attracted the most attention and was considered the most inspirational to the
designers. The practical use of the technique may lead to only marginally
original products perhaps limiting its applicability to incremental innovation.