Tuesday, January 08, 2019

Ideas overload

It may be argued that ideas per se don't really matter because in a world of social media and global networking there's the risk of too many ideas, or an overload of ideas. That is, more ideas don't mean better ideas (also reflected in the fact that neither copyrights or patents protect ideas). Indeed, with pervasive digital technology, there's not only quantity over quality but also superficiality giving way to the illusion that every idea is a good one. What matters, then, is that ideas have to be communicated effectively, that is, argued truthfully and convincingly to persuade and win over stakeholders. This is particularly true in design where ideas are put forward aiming at changing for the better existing realities in some shape or form. Effective communication of ideas, then, highlights ideation skills, that is, the skillful use of ideation tools (words, sketches, models and computing) gained through practice.