Ideation for the real world

Design ideation may suggest that the design process starts with no preconceived notions. That is, the designer start with a blank sheet of paper waiting to be filled with ideas. Or, in the words of John Locke (1632-1704), the English philosopher, who stated that the mind is like a slate scraped  free of all markings, or a tabula rasa, and that humans do not have innate ideas. Locke, then, was a leading proponent of empiricism, the theory that stresses the role of experience and evidence, and particularly sensory experience. Yet while the notion that design begins with a blank slate is attractive, the everyday lived experience tells us that the environment around us (from natural to socio-economic-political factors) influence ideation -  the ways we generate ideas, and both in terms of process and content. In this sense, empiricism is one of the foundation stones for ideation for the real world. Indeed empiricism helps the understanding of the marketplace, which in turn influences the ideation stage of the design process. Ideas which then feed into design development and production adjusted to meet both global and local needs and preferences.

Keep calm and carry on scribbling

There are times when there seem to be too many ideas competing in one's head at any one time. It can be overwhelming, even stressful although having many ideas is typically considered a good thing - a manifestation of creative thinking. After all, what designer wants to run short of ideas? So, capturing the ideas is key. And a good way of generating first thoughts and keeping track of them is through scribbling - a way of sketching out ideas, concrete or abstract, in words and/or images, say, telling little stories, and with any implement on any surface (although "pen & paper" is the most typical). In fact, scribbling can have a calming effect when there are too many "idea sparks" flying around. It can help harnessing restless ideas and put the ideator in a focused or meditative frame of mind that allow ideas to flow steadily rather than turbulently. Like a meandering stream rather than rapids. Scribbling, then, becomes a mindset, or an approach to problem solving - an aid that functions at many levels, including thinking-aloud or day-dreaming. In other words, ideation without stressing about it.