A Conceptual Design Method Based on Concept–Knowledge Theory and Large Language Models

Abstract To obtain innovative concepts in the design, designers often need to retrieve and use interdisciplinary knowledge. Concept–knowledge (C–K) theory emphasizes the role of knowledge and introduces the knowledge (K) space and concept (C) space, employing operators to transform the contents between these spaces. Some studies, based on this theory, have successfully provided designers with different forms of knowledge to stimulate concept generation. However, the amount of knowledge provided in these studies is limited, and they fail to offer convenient methods for knowledge retrieval and reasoning, making it challenging to meet the needs of conceptual design across different fields. This paper proposes an enhanced C–K method leveraging large language models (LLMs) to help designers retrieve knowledge and uncover potentially new concepts. Our method redefines the C space and K space within the context of LLMs, dividing the properties of concept into function, appearance, and technology, and requiring the knowledge to correspond to these properties, thereby facilitating a structured connection between concepts and knowledge. Based on this definition, we achieved flexible knowledge retrieval and concept ideation leveraging LLMs. We also conducted a case study on wearable devices to validate our method. The results showed that our method helped designers to retrieve professional knowledge and inspired them to create feasible and innovative concepts.