Ideation as function of human language

Ideas, as linguistic phenomena function at several levels of human language. Karl Popper, the philosopher (1902-1994), talks about higher and lower functions of language. Accordingly, the lower functions of language are self-expression and signalling whereas the two most important higher functions of human languages are the descriptive function and the argumentative function. Popper holds that the lower two functions are always present when the higher ones are present. Moreover, he regards the role of argument as important as observation and experiment. Now, if relating Popper's line of thought to ideation, one might say that idea generation corresponds to self-expression and signalling whereas idea communication compares to the descriptive function and the argumentative function. That is, designers generate ideas (self-expression) and communicate ideas (descriptive function and argumentative function), which constitute the ideation process. And so, self-expression is always present in the idea argument which reflects the transient nature of ideas, that is, ideas may always be replaced by other ideas. In other words, argument is an important part of ideation.

Playfulness

Playfulness is evident in children all over the world. Children play to create, learn and communicate. And playfulness plays a creative role in design practice too. Indeed it can be seen as a methodology to support the design process. In this, playfulness reflects an attitude to designing that encourages creative thinking and making, from motivation and exploration to stimulation and collaboration. Moreover, playfulness encourages design teams to focus on creative potential rather than criticism of each others' ideas. A current example of playful design is the Play Pavilion in Kensington Gardens, London, a temporary summer venue open to people of all ages.The pavilion, with its single dome volume, acrylic skin and bright colours, is a joint project by the Lego Group, the Serpentine Gallery and the architect Peter Cook, a co-founder of the Archigram collective in the 1960. Cook describes the pavilion as a “theatre of formative play” where architecture becomes a stage for unstructured creativity. The project also expresses Cook's idea that building should be joyful, social, and open-ended, a reminder that architecture can be soft, silly, experimental, and still deeply intelligent. https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/play-pavilion-commission-by-sir-peter-cook-in-partnership-with-the-lego-group/