Ideation strategy

Ideation is not just about generating ideas but, and equally important, about ideas communication. That is, the idea presented should stand out in some way, or stand out from the crowd in a compettion. Although there can be no guaranteed way of achieving this, a few suggestions have emerged over time. For example, the concept is presented with an-easy-to-understand, compelling solution organised around a simple, and striking idea, such as Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum in New York.. However, a simple, attention seeking idea that carries the whole project is not always the most persuasive, or the most likely winner because the "big idea" might not be so much simple as simplistic. For complex design tasks, or briefs, ideation may require a more nuanced approach for which a single-idea based proposal might not be the winning ticket. The Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, for example, was designed from the inside out by Frank Gehry working with world-leading Japanese acousticians. So while there can be no single winning formula, what seems a sure-footed ideation strategy is effective and clear communication that explains the idea in its full context, both verbally and visually. The strategy may include the use of metaphor, particularly when design teams need to connect with the end users on a deeper emotional, intellectual, or experiential level.

Ideation and memory

To better understand the psychology of ideation, we must look at the mental process involved in generating new and meaningful ideas. And — from a cognitive perspective– ideation is a cognitive process generated by making new connections across different regions of the brain. Many cognitive functions draw on our experiences to make the right cognitive connections. This suggests that while some individuals may have a higher aptitude for creativity, ideation is a skill that can learned and improved on. The skill aspect of ideation highlights, in turn, the integration of memory and ideas generation, or, how ideation is driven by memory. That is,  in the context of creative problem solving, ideators need to find ways to reach their memory to find information that will be relevant to solving the problem. Or, as argued by Art Markman, a cognitive scientist, the key route to finding creative solutions to a problem is to find information in your memory that will help you to solve the problem in some way. He concludes, all creative work requires using your existing knowledge to help you to do new things. Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/ulterior-motives/201510/creativity-is-memory