design ideation

Myths, truths, and fashion

2012-02-08T15:24:00.002-08:00

On the Fashion System (1967) Roland Barthes says: 'Contrary to the myth of
improvisation, of caprice, of fantasy, of free creativity, we can see that fashion
is strongly coded. It is ruled by combination in which there is a finite reserve
of elements and certain rules of change. The whole set of fashion features for
each year is found in the collection of features which has its own rules and
limits, like grammar'. Now, doesn't Barthes' provocation contain a grain of truth
for most design disciplines?

Ideators cum entrepreneurs

2012-01-16T03:54:00.000-08:00

Ideators share traits with entrepreneurs. Both see an opportunity and don’t feel constrained from pursuing it because they lack resources. Indeed, ideators, like entrepreneurs, are used to making do with few resources.

Ideas and collaboration

2012-01-11T04:30:00.001-08:00

"The most important thing in business is to be good at delegation and employ the best executives", says Richard Branson, the media entrepreneur. That may hold true for the creative industry too. That is, the realisation of design ideas calls for team work and collaboration employing the best designers and makers.

Timeless design?

2012-01-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

"What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know." SAINT AUGUSTINE (354-430 AD). What then is timeless design?

Technology the new mother art?

2011-12-18T01:33:00.000-08:00

Today's architectural practice is not so much about vision and flair, but trying to do a good job responding to the financial circumstances, says Rowan Moore in The Observer newspaper. Dealing with the same business pressures and demands, where architects cannot survive without computing power, the result is that most architectural projects end up quite similar to each other. But if designing for the modern urban environment is shaped by technology and efficiency, what happens to the old idea of architecture as the mother of all arts?

It's just an idea

2011-12-01T11:03:00.000-08:00

Does ideation reflect the ethos of modernity to transform ourselves and the material world, or does it express the postmodern notion of design as a conceptual medium liberated from the need of realisation, where designers are conceptualisers rather than makers? But what is the idea without direction and action?

Acting on ideas

2011-11-26T01:08:00.000-08:00

Ideation happens in the early stages of problem solving. It goes beyond just "having ideas" in the head. It is about "getting the ideas out", to communicate them effectively. Acting on ideas creates opportunity to design. Problem solving, then, comes to those who take action rather than hold their head in their hands and give up.

Cultural baggage

2011-11-21T09:04:00.000-08:00

'When you get a job, regardless how familiar the subject, resist any temptation to think you know enough about it, and you're ready to design. Purge your mind of as much cultural baggage as possible. Research the subject as if you know nothing about it. Don't look for inspiration in design books. Don't sit at your computer, waiting for lightening to strike'. Bob Gill, Pentagram

Ideographic myth

2011-11-20T02:09:00.002-08:00

Peter DuPonceau, the American 19th century scholar, refuted the opinion still popular in the West that Chinese writing is 'an ocular method of communicating ideas, entirely independent of speech, and which, without the intervention of speech, conveys ideas through the sense of vision directly to the mind. Hence it's called ideographic, in contradistinction from the phonographic or alphabetical system of writing'. Instead DuPonceau argues that the Chinese system of writing is not, as has been supposed, ideographic. Its characters do not represent ideas, but words. Ideographic writing is a creature of the imagination, and cannot exist, but for very limited purposes, which do not entitle it to the name of writing. All writing, then, must be a direct representation of the spoken language, and cannot present ideas to the mind abstracted from it. All writing, then, represents language in some of its elements, which are words, syllables, and simple sounds. (DuPonceau 1838)

Idea compulsion

2011-11-09T01:17:00.000-08:00

Designing is a compulsion for Philippe Starck. He says he would never have chosen to be a designer: 'It's not normal to produce so many ideas like I do. It is non-stop. There's a relation with autism, I think, mild but there. As I get older the sickness grows'.

Thinking made visible

2011-11-06T02:44:00.000-08:00

"The ideal trademark is one that is pushed to its utmost limit in terms of abstraction and ambiguity, yet is still readable. Trademarks are usually metaphors of one kind or another. And are, in a certain sense, thinking made visible." Saul Bass (1920-1996)

Robust ideation

2011-10-22T06:15:00.000-07:00

Robust ideation suggests creative thinking informed by research rather than mere opinion. The robust idea, then, presents a well-argued position. Although the robust idea doesn't necessarily win over the sceptics, the robustness encourages an informed discussion rather than an endless discussion of clashing opinions.

Idea formation

2011-10-09T10:48:00.001-07:00

Daniel Shechtman, this year's winner of the Nobel prize in chemistry, observed that the arrangement of atoms in a metal alloy can break the rules of crystallography by forming unrepeating patterns, much like irregular medieval Islamic mosaics found in the Alhambra Palace in Spain and the Darb-i Iman Shrine in Iran. At the time of Shechtman's discovery, the configuration found in these "quasicrystals" was thought impossible because regular patterns were considered essential for a crystal solid to form. As a result, scientists had to reconsider how they viewed the nature of matter. The way Islamic mosaics have helped scientists understand what quasicrystals look like at the atomic level highlights the role of intellectual heritage, and might also illuminate the nature of idea formation.

Living your idea

2011-10-06T08:29:00.001-07:00

'Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma- which is the result of living with other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.' (Steve Jobs 1955-2011).

Cloud ideation

2011-09-23T00:23:00.000-07:00

Video games can now be delivered on demand to a PC, Mac, TV or tablet whereby the players use a web-based service (subscription or pay-per-use) rather than buying the software (shared, platform independent infrastructure). Instead of players hosting and managing the software, all the processing take place on powerful remote servers (cloud computing technology). Access to games is practically instant, and all user inputs are effectively streamed back in real-time. Now, how might cloud computing impact the hardware and software ecosystems of ideation?

Computer dependency

2011-09-03T00:55:00.002-07:00

Long hours flying under computer control may have dulled the skills of airline flight crews, according to a U.S. advisory board that recommends more manual flight time for pilots.

"They're becoming very dependent upon using the autopilot, the auto-throttles, the auto flight system, the computers, to actually operate the entire flight," said Kevin Hiatt, a former airline pilot who sat on that board.

"What happens is, you don't actually hand-fly or manipulate the controls, whether it's a control yoke or a sidestick controller," Hiatt said. "Therefore, your computer skills get greatly enhanced, but your flying skills start to get rusty."

The panel recommended that airlines provide guidance for manual flights in their operating manuals to encourage more actual flying by pilots. But experts say the problem may get worse because of the way younger pilots are trained.

"When you bring on a new pilot who has not been through some of the things that some of the older guys have, they've never flown an airplane that had anything but some computer activity on it," retired commercial pilot Jim Tilmon said. "They don't understand what to do necessarily when something goes wrong with their computer."

Is there a lesson here for designers dependent on CAD?

Source: CNN

Ideation and plasticity of the brain

2011-08-19T00:51:00.000-07:00

'The ability to personalise our brain in response to environment and individual experience is known as "plasticity". As we make our unique way through life, we develop our own particular perspectives due to the connections between our brain cells that are driven and shaped by our specific experiences. It is these connections which normally enable us to associate people, actions and objects with the sequence of episodes that amount to our life story. Our brain is in constant two-way dialogue with the outside world, shaping and re-shaping our neuronal unique configurations into a unique "mind"'. Susan Greenfield, pharmacologist.

Innovation spaces

2011-08-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

'PCs are being replaced at the center of computing not by another type of device—though there’s plenty of excitement about smart phones and tablets—but by new ideas about the role that computing can play in progress. These days, it’s becoming clear that innovation flourishes best not on devices but in the social spaces between them, where people and ideas meet and interact. It is there that computing can have the most powerful impact on economy, society and people’s lives'. Mark Dean, IBM Research.

Idea representation

2011-08-09T16:52:00.000-07:00

‘A lot of young artists now have an idea and want to illustrate it, but they do almost everything they can to avoid paint and the sensuality of painting. It’s all so concept-based – and the real killer is computer art. Some of it is all right when you first look at it, but when you look closer it becomes more vacuous. The whole thing for me is the spontaneity that happens in the process of creating something’. (John Hoyland 1934-2011)

Ideas going Gaga

2011-07-21T23:18:00.000-07:00

The singer Victoria Beckham's foray into fashion design (own label) and car design (Range Rover) has prompted her footballer husband David to turn designer too (underwear and T-shirts for H&M), two examples that illustrate how design ideas are being launched by celebrities. But lamenting how branding rather than real design thinking is shaping the design industry, product designer Kenneth Grange says that whereas in the past firms like Braun, Pirelli, Olivetti, and Hermann Miller all had powerful design identities now corporations in straight forward heavy duty commerce will bring in someone like Lady Gaga to boost the brand’s image (and the company's share price).

Ideation by Twombly

2011-07-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

Cy Twombly was an artist of thinking aloud, of thoughts checked and then resumed, hesitancies and the rush of ideas. He blurred long-held distinctions between drawing and painting depicting refined Classical themes with unidentifiable doodles and splotches. Writing and language served as major conceptual foundations for Twombly's art; the written word, in the form of poems, myths and histories, inspired much of his work. He focused on the process of writing, both by sketching words directly onto the canvas and by creating line- and handwriting-based compositions. Twombly's process illuminates ideation as practised by artists and designers alike.

Dialogical ideation

2011-06-19T04:54:00.001-07:00

Ideation through dialogue inspires openness to others' viewpoints and to learning from one another. Ideation through argument, in contrast, might stimulate obsessive thinking holding on to ideas with defensiveness and/or try to push ideas onto others.

Ideas matter

2011-06-09T15:11:00.001-07:00

'Individual history matters because ideas matter; people who have the ideas matter; learning the genealogy (if not progressive evolution) of ideas matter; Sure, human life and ideas and their relationships and influences are complex and unguided. But they aren't patternless or boundless.They are only made possible with the stuff in circulation (including the limits of language itself), and if we're sure to align the type of claim we make to the kind of evidence we have, we actually can help bring our ideas and practices into focus for due consideration and learning'. Derek B. Miller, The Policy Lab.

Ideation as science fiction

2011-06-05T03:51:00.000-07:00

Design ideation may show communality with science-fiction where speculation and storytelling play out within scientifically established laws of nature. But as design, like science fiction, has entered popular culture, some designs may become associated with low-budget, low-quality stuff, similar to B-movies and pulp science fiction.

Form follows Function?

2011-05-05T00:45:00.000-07:00

Increasingly the form of manufactured objects does not follow their function, says artist Michael Craig-Martin. "Think of a mobile phone. You used to have a receiver with a defined earpiece and mouthpiece. Now you just have a box. Today everything looks like everything else. A phone looks like a computer looks like a camera."

Computer Aided Ideation, CAI

2011-04-30T00:46:00.000-07:00

Most post-modern architecture, arguably, couldn’t have been designed or built without the computer. But computing goes beyond the purely technical aspects of design. As exemplified by Guggenheim Bilbao, the computer was harnessed to create a "stirring emotional experience". What does this mean for producing inspirational and transformational ideas? Will computers in the future by-pass the human creative process of ideation?

If ideation can be seen as a form of human dialogue, then the challenge for ideation by computer is revealed in the difference between "stateless" and "stateful" conversation, as found in research on artificial intelligence and cognitive science.

In a "stateless" conversation, each question and answer is self-contained, providing its own context and responding only to the immediately previous remark.

In contrast, human conversation is generally in the "stateful" mode, where each remark and reply builds on the last, creating an accumulation of context in which later remarks gain additional shades of meaning (without this context, an eavesdropper would find the conversation difficult to understand).

However, humans don't always converse in the stateful mode, and bot programmers (who write software applications that run automated tasks over the Internet) explicitly try to steer the conversation towards the mathematically simpler stateless forms of dialogue.

Brian Christian*, a researcher in the field, describes how he found the chatbots' deliberate attempts to simplify language reminiscent of human conversation at its most lacklustre. Hardly then the mode of conversation that helped create Guggenheim Bilbao.

Christian, B. 2011. The Most Human Human: A Defence of Humanity In The Age Of The Computer. Viking

Why ideation skills matter

2011-04-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

In a globalised design industry there's a shift from the maker and the craftsman to the market strategist and the innovator. Designers, then, will have to work as a team with other professionals. But above all, what designers truly get paid for is their creativity and ability to generate ideas. Ideation skills, then, become crucial in order for the team to produce creative solutions for their clients.

Style is substance

2011-04-13T01:26:00.000-07:00

Dyson industries, of vacuum cleaner fame, have some 500 mechanical engineers, industrial and product designers working together under one roof where ideas come thick and fast. Yet while Dyson's staff are openly encouraged to pitch ideas, ideation has to be focused, and ideas kept on track.

As a result Dyson's engineers are said to be more interested in how things work than how they look, and claim they never launched anything that doesn't work. Yet while the company admits it has launched some ugly products, Dyson believes that this quest for perfection over style has been crucial to the success of the company.

True, style isn't everything and substance counts for lot. But Dyson could learn from design-driven companies such as Apple that style itself has become a kind of substance.

Ideation for action

2011-04-02T01:43:00.000-07:00

Ideation is essentially a reflective activity. After the Eureka! moment, there's is slowing down,
questioning, humbling oneself, constructing, deconstructing, constructing again, patiently
building knowledge and applying it ...

Worthless ideas?

2011-03-23T04:46:00.000-07:00

'All ideas have degrees of potential. And if your idea is unique and has massive potential, that’s great. But don’t just stand still and think you’re sitting on a goldmine. Since only when you execute on the idea, and realize its potential, do you create value and wealth'.

Dave Lavinsky of Growthink.

Ideation constraints

2011-03-18T03:59:00.000-07:00

Design ideation is sometimes being perceived as starting with a "blank page". The reality, however, is that ideation, as part of the design process, is not limitless but constrained by internal and external factors.

Internal factors may include; knowledge base, long term memory, and the designer's sense of audience or client needs. External factors may include; time allocated to the task, brief specification, client expectations, ideation tools for the job (skills and availabilty), and the designer's access to reference material.

X Idea

2011-03-13T03:24:00.000-07:00

Method and Central Saint Martins (CSM) have come together to create Method Design Lab, MDL, a new business accelerator, which aims to bring up to 20 innovations to market each year.

MDL operates a step process to take an idea from concept to full commercialisation:

Step 1 - Idea sources: Ideas are identified from sources including the 4,500+ CSM students and the extensive internal and external global network of Method and CSM experts.

Step 2 - Primary selection: Ideas are selected using an online voting system that allows Method and CSM experts to identify which ideas should be explored further. This step draws on over 100 global experts that specialise in design, innovation and user-experience who have a track record in bringing innovation ideas to the market.

Step 3 - Early feasibility: Ideas that make it beyond the online voting stage undergo a rigorous internal vetting process with those who make the cut then being subject to due diligence in which the Method Design Lab team will identify potential routes to market, possible competition, design potential and audience.

Step 4 - Transfer of ownership: Once early feasibility has been conducted and the idea is to progress further an agreement is reached with the IP author.

Step 5 - Development: This involves the development of the idea to prototype stage and is where the combined strength of the joint venture partners will come to light. MDL, CSM and Method staff will bring their discipline expertise to bear and ensure that the output of this phase is as high a caliber as the world-class work done for clients of the independent consultancies.

Step 6 - Commercialisation: Developed idea is presented to potential market partners and additional investors to support large scale commercialisation and development.

Source: http://www.dexigner.com/news/22510

Words, words, words

2011-03-08T01:13:00.000-08:00

Design ideation is typically an iterative process, interaction or dialogue between words and images. Ideation also works with artefacts and objects (including sketch models and rough prototypes). Words alone, however, may be perceived as weakness in ideation ("words, words, words") because they can be ambiguous, messy even, or pure abstraction, that is, building blocks without material constraints. Yet, arguably, the ambiguity of words allows more point of entry for creativity and innovation.

Ideation, innovation and manufacturing

2011-02-14T05:18:00.001-08:00

Is there a relationship between ideation and manufacturing, and the next innovations? For example, the ideas behind the iPad and iPhone were generated and developed in the USA but the products are made by the engineers and factory workers in Asia. As people in Asia gain more knowledge, skill and experience will they also increasingly produce the next innovations? In other words, will shifts in manufacturing to the East lead to less innovation of physical products in the West? Moreover, if new generations of Western designers ideate without having the experience or means of producing things what are the ideation outcomes? Virtual solutions? Or, all talk and no industry?

Ideation, strategy and tactics

2011-02-01T02:23:00.000-08:00

When you have a big idea, communicating the idea will involve ideation tools. And if the idea is the strategy, then ideation tools become the tactics, or operational means, for communicating the idea. But does a great idea (strategy) depend on brilliant ideation tool skills (tactics) for success? Arguably, if the idea is strong enough, you can get by with mediocre ideation tool execution. But why risk letting down a big idea through poor communication? Although it could be said that even the best tools (tactics) can’t compensate for a lousy idea (strategy).

Projecting ideas on the spot

2011-01-04T03:16:00.000-08:00

Generating and developing ideas using smartphone (touchscreen) technology can be taken to the communication and presentation stages by using built-in or attached pocket sized projector. As ideation happens in many places, never has it been easier to project ideas to others on-the-spot, anytime, anywhere.

Touch, sketch and go

2010-12-05T04:35:00.001-08:00

Traditionally designers use pen and paper to capture, develop and share ideas with others. But with the advance of digital devices such as tablet computers and smartphones controlled by multi-touch displays, sketching on-screen is now a working alternative to pen and paper. Moreover, the multi-touch display combined with the processing, storage, editing, and communication power of the computer is turning the smartphone into an effective on-the-go ideation tool.

Ideation barriers

2010-12-03T01:28:00.000-08:00

Ideation calls for curiosity and openness to experience and innovation. But without losing spontaneity ideas need to be organised and managed too. And if ideas seem slow to develop or get stuck don't go for the easy option of blaming external factors. What stops ideas from happening is often as much down to internal barriers and obstructions as external ones.

After the idea ...

2010-11-27T06:42:00.000-08:00

'After the idea there's plenty of time to learn the technology', says James Dyson of vacuum cleaner fame. However, having relocated production to the Far East, Dyson is keen to make the UK the leading high tech exporter in Europe arguing that 'We need more entrepreneurs. We need more innovators. We need more scientists, engineers and designers who can turn ideas into working products'. Some challenge then when faced with the decline in British manufacturing.

Metaphor as ideation tool

2010-11-12T03:36:00.000-08:00

Often associated with literature, art and poetry, metaphor is commmonly used when generating and communicating design ideas, and whether the idea is abstract, concrete or visual. Using metaphor is arguably a more persuasive technique than simile using "like" or "as" because a metaphor carries stronger emotions than a simile (whereas metaphor is a figure of speech, a simile is more of a logical argument). The strategic use of metaphor, then, is a powerful ideation tool that can make the difference between success and failure of idea presentation.

Idea sharing

2010-11-03T03:50:00.000-07:00

Communicating ideas is more than getting other people excited about your idea. In collaborative situations it’s also about sharing ownership of ideas where you can be seen as the creative leader of your idea allowing others to contribute and push the idea forward. The risk with sharing ownership is that you might feel “losing control” of your idea. That risk, however, should be balanced with the opportunity of having your idea appreciated, supported and realised more quickly.

Ideation is purposeful

2010-10-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

Ideas happen in context. Take every opportunity then to share your ideas with others. Whilst ideation is personally fulfilling its purpose is to engage other people. The key to this is idea communication. Through collaboration and rooting your ideas in targeted community you'd raise the odds to making your ideas happen.

Doing ideas

2010-10-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

Talking ideas is comparatively effortless. Therefore most people like to talk about their ideas but do very little. But often there isn't much that needs to be said to realise ideas. In contrast, there is a lot that needs to be done. The way to close the gap between talking and making ideas happen then is to say less and do more.

Ideation and use of metaphor

2010-09-05T13:57:00.000-07:00

Language in the widest sense plays an important role in the early fuzzy stages of design and helps to identify and capture design concepts. Metaphor use is part of this process. In a study on how novice architecture students assess the use of metaphors and the creativity of their own designs, it was found that the most important role that metaphors play in design problem solving is to support the design of innovative products. In contrast, the use of metaphors did not help so much in the functional and aesthetic aspects of design (Casakin, H.P. 2007. Metaphors in Design Problem Solving: Implications for Creativity).

Ideation efficiency?

2010-08-19T00:30:00.000-07:00

Could economic efficiency criteria apply to design ideation? For example, ideation efficiency is achieved when an idea is produced making the most efficient use of the ideator's scarce resources (talent, time, and energy), and when that idea best meets the needs and wants of the consumer at a price that fairly reflects the value of resources used up in the realisation of the idea.

Ideas in context

2010-08-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

Experience by itself, like raw data, teaches nothing. Similarly, ideas have little or no meaning apart from their context. But even when the context is known, ideas are no substitute for hard work. Ideas well thought out and communicated, however, may save many hours of hard work. Indeed, robust ideation may help foresee problems of production and in use that may be encountered with the product or service.

Lost in translation?

2010-07-01T00:27:00.000-07:00

The linguist Guy Deutscher argues that our mother tongue does affect how we think and, just as important, how we perceive the world. Now if language affects thought it would impact ideation too because language is the main mode of human communication. But what happens to ideas generated in non-English mother tongues when communicated in English? Assuming that ideas, or first thoughts, take colour and cultural value from the mother tongue, might ideation get lost in translation?

Ideation as learning

2010-06-08T14:46:00.001-07:00

When we ideate we learn too. And when ideas are concrete rather than abstract, for example, when we generate ideas through hands-on engagement with modelling or drawing material, ideation becomes experiential learning. That is, learning from experience or discovery rather than taught or rote learning. Experiential learning is manifested in ideation workshops where conceptual skills are developed and improved on. http://www.ideation-workshop.blogspot.com/

Sleep on it

2010-05-06T01:46:00.000-07:00

So you've got a few ideas for a given situation. But which one to choose?

Psychologists from the University of Amsterdam devised a series of experiments to test a theory on "deliberation without attention" and found that once you have the information, you have to decide, and this is best done with conscious thought for simple decisions, but left to unconscious thought - to "sleep on it" - when the decision is complex.

Moreover, and according to the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University, lack of sleep affects areas of the brain that respond to novelty. That is, without sleep we are unable to take on new information, think innovatively or respond intelligently to changing circumstances (while we sleep we process information too).

Furthermore, research at the University of British Columbia found that too much reflection could be detrimental in some decsion-making situations. To decide which idea, then, suggests we engage in (conscious) reflection but don't make a major decision without sleeping on it.

Ideation worlds

2010-04-09T01:32:00.000-07:00

Ideation tools include digital applications. The advent of interactive graphical systems raises possibilities for new forms of collaboration of designers and computers in the creative process where computer programming supports the creation of dynamic, real-time, story models. The experience of ideation as storytelling, then, could be enhanced through interactive simulations of computer-generated story worlds.

Zero tolerance?

2010-03-17T00:30:00.000-07:00

In our enthusiasm for all that is new, unusual, and avant-garde, we might be less concerned with objective viewpoints and explanations, and more concerned with "self-expression" and the need to be creative and unique. But how realisable are our ideas if we gloss over the more realistic points, details, flaws in circumstances and of people? Yet for our ideas to be spontaneous and direct - "blue sky thinking" - how much constraint should we tolerate? Is ideation then about egos and instant gratification - wow! - or the first step towards bold yet sustainable change - Aha?

Ideas (c)

2010-03-09T23:52:00.000-08:00

OK, so you've got a brilliant idea. Should you protect it? Well, if your idea is worth copying it might be worth protecting it under Intellectual Property rights, IP. But it depends on a number of factors including the nature of your idea. For example, is it artistic, say, a conceptual sketch, or a three-dimensional object such as a chair? One basic form of protection is to use a confidentiality agreeement before you disclose your idea to others. Or if defending your IP rights prove too difficult or expensive, say court action, you can try "naming & shaming" those who infringe your IP rights. If you write a contract, try to retain all intellectual property rights and let the client only receive a licence to use what you have created. But above all, your idea must be clearly expressed, not just reside in your head, and you have to prove ownership of it. For IP legislation see http://www.ipo.gov.uk/

Sociology of design ideas

2010-02-11T23:58:00.000-08:00

Ideas derive from both sense-experience and reasoned thinking and reveal the tension between what is actually there and what we believe or perceive to be there. Tension between reality and imagination, moreover, reveals the relationship between human thought and social context. If design is perceived as a social activity design ideation can be seen as a socially constructed process illuminating what effects design ideas have on societies, or a sociology of design ideas.

Talking or drawing aloud

2009-12-23T06:44:00.000-08:00

People who talk out loud to think through their maths problems are able to solve them faster and have more chance of getting the right answer, research in educational psychology has found. The research, published in he Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, found that discussing problems was a smart way to learn. Also, that drawing or making a pictorial representation relating to the problem contributed to its solution. In short, talking aloud or drawing the problems is closely related to the success in problems solution. The findings may fly in the face of old-fashioned theory of problem-solving in silence; classrooms should be full of noise of students tackling their problems out loud. So learning and teaching maths, then, could learn from design ideation and the studio experience!

Safety in ideas

2009-11-22T12:18:00.000-08:00

It's the business of designers to challenge convention from time to time. But when we do this, we risk alienating those with a vested interest in maintaining tradition. And often too, we just can't tell if a new idea is a stroke of genius or a stupid notion until we have begun to try it out. So we have to take that risk. It takes courage to explore different ideas, approaches and solutions. But designers owe it to themselves to ideate and experiment. And as long as we keep reaching for new ideas and possibilities we are likely to find one that works.

Ideation the Hadid way

2009-11-15T08:56:00.000-08:00

Zaha Hadid's Maxxi museum of contemporary art in Rome is completed. The script-driven architecture began as a jagged scribble on a page of lined notepaper turning into an artwork in acrylic paint. And that, in turn, spawned hundreds of pages of computer-generated images using advanced design techniques like scripting (in Mel Script or Rhino Script) and parametric modelling (with tools like GC or DP). Hadid describes the architecture as "porous, immersive, a field space, the notion of drift". The idea of architecture whose masses and spaces drift, says Hadid, has been alien to architecture but is well understood in art. But connections between architecture and art follow a long tradtion. What Hadid is proposing is a different kind of architectural form in the digital age, what her office hails as parametricism, or the great new style after modernism.

Committed to ideas

2009-10-24T03:34:00.000-07:00

Do ideas demand definitions, structures, and commitments? But once our ideas are defined, structured and committed, we might feel caged, trapped, or limited. Yet if we want to realise our ideas we have to take them seriously: In ideas start responsibility!

Ideation as essay

2009-10-11T01:24:00.000-07:00

Design is a hybrid medium reflected in how designers employ ideas from both fiction and reality. This suggests that the designer, in articulating ideas in written form, becomes an essayist whose narrative veers in and out of experiential knowledge framed within a fiction. The literary form of design ideation, then, is the essay rather than the hard science paper.

Community of ideas

2009-10-04T06:14:00.000-07:00

Within the general framework of ideation, where intuition, information and matter converge, we find, with the emergence of new knowledge and cross-pollination of ideas from design and science, a community of ideas where there is not only variety of ideas, and rivalry between them, but also awareness and respect of how each idea fits into that community.

Idea prototyping

2009-09-17T02:37:00.000-07:00

Prototyping, or modelling design ideas is evolving. Developing from the tradition of the crafts, prototyping in the digital age with the aid of modelling software can now be seen as both generative and dynamic, offering new ways of exploring and communicating feasibility of ideas, and whether in form or appearance (aesthetic model), or function (proof of concept) . The distinctions between analogue and digital idea prototyping, or the physical and virtual are dissolving to the point where they have now become outmoded terms in design ideation.

Ideation in the digital age

2009-09-05T03:31:00.001-07:00

The digital age urges us to move fast forward. But technology does not neccessarily cut us off from traditional ideation tools such as pencil and paper that make for a gentler and more comfortable step into the future.

Ideation and listening skills

2009-08-06T02:02:00.000-07:00

A sometimes overlooked or underestimated part of the ideation process is the designer's listening skills. By listening to and understanding the client's reasoning behind the design brief and how it was arrived at designers are in a better position to make sense of the client's needs and desires and respond in a language that is both imaginative and meaningful using an appropriate range of ideation tools. In short, designers can engage their imagination by taking the time to listen.

Ideas in waiting

2009-07-13T01:17:00.000-07:00

Some ideas are ideas in waiting. They are in the grey zone between fiction and reality. We turn them into reality when we have the technological means to realise them. But the social, economic, and ethical conditions must be right too.

Design ideation as craft

2009-06-05T02:06:00.000-07:00

Although ideas may occur serendipitously, at any time, and in many different places, developing and communicating ideas can be seen as craft which involves skilful use of ideation tools such as words, sketching, physical and digital modelling.

Computer-aided ideation (CAI)

2009-05-02T00:30:00.000-07:00

Design computing now goes well beyond documentation and production needs. It includes innovation, simulation and digital fabrication that expands rather than reduces designers' creative options. In short, digital technology promotes experimentation and discovery, what I call Computer-aided ideation, CAI (Jonson 2005).

Designers who focus on innovation through analogue tools alone highlight knowledge and skills of computing technologies. For example: 'Computers arrived too late for me. I don't believe I can use them to their potential. The computer pushes for a rigour that is hard to include in research development; it can't accommodate the doubts that are necessary, and this can be difficult for creativity. I see the computer as another instrument complimentary to sketches, models, reading and so on - not an exclusive way of working'. Alvaro Siza, RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2009.

Ideation logic

2009-04-18T04:12:00.000-07:00

There can be logic in ideation, even if it arrives by a most illogical route.

Is there method in design ideation?

2009-04-07T06:19:00.001-07:00

Whereas the "Aha!", or "Eureka!" moment may be thought of as a subconscious activity, design ideation, as an integrated whole of generating, developing and communicating ideas, might suggest strategic thinking and not just processes out of our conscious control. Design ideation as strategy, then, might be regarded as a form of experimental science, a series of actions or procedure that can be tested and refined and categorised, classified, defined or codified and so built into methodology.

So for example, TRIZ is a model for generating ideas that relies on the study of the patterns of problems and solutions. Based on logic and data, not on the spontaneous and intuitive creativity of individuals or groups, the effectiveness of TRIZ, is, however, disputed, particularly for non-engineering fields.

Design ideation, then, cannot be regarded as a single, sharply defined methodology; there are many different tools, processes, and philosophies of ideation. See also blog January 16.

Preconceived ideas?

2009-01-16T06:48:00.000-08:00

By asking ourselves with some degree of humility whether that which we perceive to be so is simply what we have preprogrammed our minds to see, we may find that the problems we perceive are in fact nothing more than preconceived ideas. The danger, of course, is that real issues may be ignored.

So how do we deal with real issues? Albert Einstein famoulsy observed that problems can’t be solved by the same level of thinking that created them in the first place. Thinking about a situation in the wrong way can literally condemn us to relive the same experiences over and over again. Little will change until we change our thinking. Ideation, then, suggests change in our thinking about a situation. And from change in our thinking new ideas emerge that challenge the past.

The discipline of ideas

2008-12-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

However smart, original or clever your ideas are in your head, without the conscious effort to externalise ideas they remain like bright, shiny sport cars with nothing to drive on. The power is there but the car is going nowhere. Indeed, ideas with no wheels!

Book review: Peter Cook Drawing

2008-11-25T02:31:00.000-08:00

For my review of Peter Cook: 'Drawing - the motive force of architecture' (Wiley 2008), see www.drawing.org.uk

Ideas shape the world

2008-11-01T07:15:00.000-07:00

The practice, learning and knowledge of design have been significantly transformed by new media and communication technologies. Yet behind new technologies lie ideas which not only direct innovation and experimentation but also form designer identities and personalities.

Ideamotion

2008-10-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

When we generate and communicate ideas we also generate and communicate emotions. And whether the various emotional states are labelled "cool", "hot" or "so-so", there's necessarily emotion in ideation because an idea reflects subjectivity. This emotional flux of ideation I call Ideamotion.

Sketcherly ways of designing

2008-09-23T02:07:00.000-07:00

Sketching out ideas, or conceptual sketching, embodies both active and reflective activities of a rational, intuitive or sensing nature that reveal insights into the processes of design. This suggests that conceptual sketching is much more than mark making on paper, from verbal and non-verbal modes to two- and three- dimensional gestural ways of expressing ideas in physical or virtual space. Sketching by other means, then, broadens the notion of sketching well beyond the traditional pencil sketch. This I call sketcherly ways of designing.

Idein

2008-09-02T03:52:00.000-07:00

Plato, Shakespeare and Goethe, to name but a few, assigned significant value to dreams. And Strindberg (1849-1912), the writer, playwright and painter, famously said: 'I dream - therefore I am'. But dreams suspend wilful reality. We cannot tell the full meaning of dreams until their reflections materialise before the objective sense. And so with ideas - they have to be externalised. Indeed, I ideate - therefore I am!

Realising Ideas

2008-08-12T10:29:00.000-07:00

Although design ideas are rooted in thinking and feeling, and as such can remain abstract, to make them concrete ideation becomes a wilful act similar to the interaction artists have with their material. That is, in the interaction between brain-eye-hand and material ideas are realised.

Experiencing ideation

2008-07-09T01:41:00.000-07:00

Ideation might suggest an overly emphasis on "thinking" rather than "doing". But it is important to recognise that purposeful and productive forms of ideation are grounded in knowledge and experience, both general and specific. Subject knowledge and life experience, then, make for fertile ground in which first thoughts and ideas germinate.

Ideation impulse

2008-06-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

The impulse to ideate in design is the sudden and strong urge to act on external and internal stimuli that result in something new that is both purposeful and productive.

Acting out ideas

2008-05-24T04:47:00.000-07:00

In his book An Actor Prepares, Stanislavski (1863-1938), the seminal drama teacher, makes the analogy between acting and travelling. Similarly, a parallel can be drawn between designing and travelling, or design as a journey ("the design process").

If you've made a journey, then, you will recall the many successive changes that take place both in what you feel and what you see. And so in the studio experience. That is, by moving forward your design project, from idea to object or artefact, you find yourself constantly in new and different situations, moods, imaginative surroundings, and the externals of production. Moreover, in the process of "acting out" your ideas along physical lines, you come into contact with new people and get to know their needs and desires. Along the way, then, you create meaning through design by understanding and empathising with the culture you serve.

Stanislavski. 1980. An Actor Prepares. London: Methuen

Sharing your ideas ....

2008-04-20T04:01:00.000-07:00

Leonardo da Vinci was apparently very paranoid about others stealing his ideas and taking credit for his discoveries. So paranoid that he felt compelled to disguise all his writings in mirror writing. And yet, though Leonardo's artistic genius was appreciated at his time, much of his other work as scientist and inventor remained unnoticed until much later, by which time his discoveries had already been invented.

When you have an idea it's very tempting to keep it to yourself. Besides, you have to work on it until it's ready to be shared by others. It has to be developed far enough. Then you have to protect it - make it your intellectual property. Then you can only talk to people about it secretively in case they should run off and do their own hit product or copy of your idea. Consequently, in so many cases, no matter how good the idea is, nothing comes of it. It's so secret that it doesn't happen and nobody benefits.

The other approach is to give it all away for free. Is it not better if somebody uses the ideas and makes them work now, even if they copy or 'steal' them , than be 'discovered' 100s of years later?

IDEO, the product development firm recognise this with one of their 'mantras': "Enlightened trial and error succeeds over the planning of the lone inventor." In other words get out there and try it, be open with it, improve it, develop it and spread the word - rather than keep it to yourself and it ultimately never happen.

Modelling ideas

2008-03-07T03:39:00.000-08:00

As a vehicle of experimentation and discovery, sketch models are engaged as a creative tool in generating and developing conceptual ideas during the early stages of the design process.

This active, exploratory use of models reflects how physical manipulation, and be it cardboard, plastics, wood or clay, can expose faults and weaknesses in 3D conceptualisation that would never reveal themselves on paper.

Moreover, through physical manipulation we have time to reflect on what we are doing ('reflection-in-action'; Schon 1983) - and the more we engage our senses the more we increase the learning opportunity.

Indeed, the tactile experience through physical modelling enables us to understand things that we cannot just understand with our eyes.

Schon, D. 1983. The Reflective Practitioner. Temple-Smith. London

Pretty ideas?

2008-02-07T03:04:00.000-08:00

In his architectural design, Frank Gehry's most immediate references are painting and sculpture: 'I search out the work of artists, and use art as a means of inspiration. I try to rid myself ... of the burden of culture and look for new ways to approach the work. I want to be open-ended. There are no rules, no right or wrong. I'm confused as to what's ugly and what's pretty'. [Frank Gehry: "The Search for a 'No Rules' Architecture", Architectural Record June 1976, p. 95]'.

This has not, however, stopped Gehry from evoking the architectural past, for example, the reference to Greek classical columns in the Loyola Law School [CA: Los Angeles. 1981-84]. Or, Japanese classical architecture and its wood craft aesthetic which has an immediate appeal to him.

Any idea?

2008-01-14T15:37:00.000-08:00

So what does it take to come up with a new idea? Do you search for ideas, or do you find them? Are they outcomes of logic or serendipitous discovery? Discuss.

To Draw, or To Sketch?

2007-11-16T00:19:00.000-08:00

We typically say, 'to draw a plan', but 'to sketch an idea'. That is, already everyday language tells us something about differences between 'drawing' and 'sketching'. Discuss.

Clear ideas?

2007-10-16T05:35:00.000-07:00

We all have ideas. And often they come to us 'out of the blue' (or, perhaps, as a Nietzsche or Freud would have it, from the subconscious). But unless we have strong facts to back them up, they may not go down so well with people around us. Does this suggest that people will respect your only when your communication with them is clear, organized, and well thought out?

What's the big idea?

2007-05-23T03:19:00.000-07:00

What's the difference between a big idea and a small idea? None! Only the implications of ideas are either big or small. Therefore ideas have to be acted upon.

And if you don't act on your idea someone else might! But if you have a great idea, why let someone else take the credit! So you have to act convincing others that your idea is worthwhile, and has big implications.

But what makes your idea gain approval or acceptance?

A strong argument! Yes, ideas have to be argued. But ideas expressed verbally are emotionally charged, particularly when they have big implications challenging conventional wisdom or traditional ways of doing things.

Getting the emotional balance right when 'selling' the idea, then, suggests the idea should be expressed in a multitude of ways.

That is, by using verbal, gestural and visual language, from metaphor and story boards to sound and physical modelling, chances improve for getting the idea accross to others.

Indeed, ideas need to be argued with the help of the fullest possible range of conceptual tools (VISTA: Video, Image, Sound, Text, Animation).

Successful ideation, then, suggests not only ingenuity and persuasiveness but also ideation skills.

Ideation Workshop

2007-03-14T03:10:00.000-07:00

We have all experienced how ideas often come to us 'out of the blue' - the proverbial 'Aha!' or 'Eureka' moment. But ideation is not just an internal activity ('thinking'). Ideas need to be externalised, or nobody else would know about them.

The workshop aims at raising awareness of how we generate, develop and communicate ideas through the use of conceptual tools*, including drawing.

* Conceptual tools are means through which ideas find their expression.

i-sketch

2006-11-13T04:28:00.000-08:00

i-sketch is an outward manifestation of ideas, of thoughts and feelings taking visual, concrete or abstract forms.

Indeed, ideas need to be externalised, or nobody else would know about them. So sketching becomes a matter of communication, of thinking aloud, of getting the ideas out (see also Ideation Workshop).

But what is the impact of digital technology on sketching with pen and paper? Software drawing tools can help create sketches or transform ready-made pictures into sketch-like images. Does this make the digital sketch different from the analogue? And if so, why?

Any perceived dichotomy between analogue and digital sketch modes, however, may overlook or underestimate how representation of ideas is the surface structure of ideas whereas the meaning of ideas is embedded in the deep structure of language. Idea sketching, then, as deep structure, suggests a sense-making activity that is independent of any drawing system, style or technique, analogue or digital.

i-sketch, then, and whether as a means of self-expression or communication, emphasises the integrative and non-hierarchical relationship between mind, eye and hand highlighting both the cognitive and sentient aspects of sketching, and irrespective of medium or discipline.