Ideation exemplified

When Sou Fujimoto, the Japanese architect (1971-), who designed the 2013 Serpentine Pavilion (London), talks about his creative thinking and design process, he is also effectively affirming design ideation, its process and tools:  'I start to discuss with my team a craziness of the ideas and we make some sketches or sometimes we make some such a tiny sketch models. All of this is just to see a lot of different potential. We like to have unexpected ideas from our normal thinking, so that first phase is really expanding our brains and expanding our ideas. And through that process, those kinds of tiny models, we try to test or try to transform normal things into architecture, then that process always opens our minds to create new perceptions of architecture spaces. But of course, at the same time we are using the computer to check the volumes. In that sense, our processes, trying everything, not only physical models, not only computers, not only sketches, sometimes just a discussion by words or conversation is also quite important. So using all of those kinds of methods or media just to see the wide range of the craziness of the ideas'. (Quoted from interview in ICON Magazine 2018, August Issue)

Earth-friendly ideas

Environmental concerns and sustainability issues are increasingly important in design ideation, and whether designing for products, services or systems. But ideas are elements of thoughts that can be either visual, concrete or abstract. In the case of abstract ideas or concepts, and particularly if the idea is digital-bound, that is, not physically enacted, it might be difficult to assess the idea's impact from ecological or sustainability perspectives. It is then that communicating the idea in simple language is essential, to make the idea as transparent and understandable as possible, for expert and layperson alike.