Too many ideas?

Some may argue that creative ideas are overrated and what matters isn't the idea itsef but converting ideas into products or services, in what is sometimes described as idea management or the innovation process, and that the implementation of ideas is what creates real market value. Yet to create new products and services ideas are needed in the first place, and whether the idea is new through reconfiguring or combining existing products or services, or novel through primary research and invention. So back to square one; how do designers generate, develop and communicate ideas that are sufficiently appealing and persuasive to take to the stage of realisation? Design ideation, then, matters because successful ideas can be seen as well argued proposals to win over the relevant audience(s) using the most appropriate ideation tools (words, visuals and models).

The nine lives of drawing

The alleged demise of sketching and freehand drawing among designers in the digital era seems exaggerated. True, complexity and need for efficiency in the design process favour the shift from freehand drawing to computational media, for example, building information modelling, BIM. Yet in the ideation stages, where ideas are formed rather than evaluated according to performance criteria, freehand drawing is alive alongside technological and computational developments. Indeed, like cats, known for their dexterity and agility and ability to survive in unlikely situations, drawing too appears to have nine lives.

Workout ideas for design

Whereas workout ideas for fitness are well understood and put into practice, a similar approach to workout ideas for design may be just the push-up or jog to get the creative juices flowing afresh and with vigour. And as having physical workout gear in sight and ready to use can act as excercise motivation, so carrying around, say a sketchbook, or putting pencil and paper in a visible place, can stimulate designers to actually use them. That is, every time you carry creative tools with you, or have the tools in front of you, you’ll get reminded to use them to capture the first thought, or the "Aha-moment", which might be elusive and not hanging aound for very long.

Big ideas or smart ideas?

The idea generation phase of ideation reflects the volume and velocity of ideas whereas the idea development and communication phases reflect the veracity and value of ideas, or the quality and usefulness of the ideas generated. How to deal with great volumes of ideas generated at highs speed, as is typically of, say, a "idea brainstorming" session, can be a challenge both in terms of capturing and managing the ideas as well as appreciating the quality of the ideas. In this sense, lots of ideas generated at speed may be counted as big data (volume and velocity) whereas the quality of ideas (veracity and value) would be the equivalent of smart data. Ideation then deals with "big data" in the generation phase, and "smart data" in the development and communication phases. Now, in the digital age, when so many ideas are generated and spread quickly, and notably on the web, having lots of ideas is not enough. But how then sort out which ideas are, in information terms, merely "noise" and which are of real value in helping to find design solutions? In other words, how to turn lots of ideas (big ideas) into valuable ideas (smart ideas)? This is where the designer's analytical and creative skills and experience come into force, that is, to understand, interpret and contextualise the ideas for their quality and usefulness.

Form, Function and Gestalt

Sullivan’s famous axiom, “form follows function,” became the touchstone for many modernist architects. That is, the purpose of a building should be the starting point for its design. But the purpose of a building may well change over time which suggests that what then matters is the original design's capacity to adapt to changing functional uses. The idea that good building design should be adaptable to future uses may also reflect gestalt theory and the observation that everything occurs in some context, or, in gestalt terms, there is a relationship between the designed thing ("figure") and the environment in which it occurs ("ground"). And perhaps more so when, in the digital age, the notion of form follows function has been challenged, if not dismissed resulting in design that has become more sophisticated increasingly relating design to our physical behavior, rather than objects. Gestalt theory, then, whereby we are constantly shaped and influenced by the situations we live through, may help further understanding of ideation.

Original ideas?

In the realm of creativity, it is often thought that the role of the designer is to come up with original ideas, that is, ideas that are created personally to be genuine, novel, true, real, actual, or pioneering; in  short, not copies. But whereas the word original suggests the origin or beginning of something, that is, not comparable with what has preceded it, design ideas must also be useful or effective to be creative. Moreover, most design ideas build on what is already there in order to improve existing situations, and whether in product, service or building design. Ideas, then, conjure up change, transformation or variation aiming at making something better or at least making something good. Or, as Robert Venturi, the architect, put it: "It's harder to be good than original".

Reproducing ideas

We know of "photographic memory", or the ability to remember information or visual images in great detail. But "photographic ideation"? Jack Whitten, an American abstract painter, in 1964, came up with a way of describing his artistic vision: “The image is photographic, therefore I must photograph my thoughts.” By this, he meant, “I can see it in my brain, and it’s reproduced. I’m using the word ‘reproduce’ in the same sense that you would use a Xerox copy machine or a computer—any form of a reproduction device.” By using the word 'reproduce', however, Whitten's might involuntary "devalue" his work of art according to Walter Benjamin's held view (1936) that technical reproduction loses the original. But Whitten's artistic vision (visual thought) as represented in external visual form (paintings) is original, not reproduction. A less conflicted way of looking at Whitten's "thought photography" may be that his artistic vision is but visual ideas (images) made concrete in the act of making paintings. In other words, the artistic vision, in the making of art, is not so much a photographic process, of transforming the latent image into a visible image, where the vision is merely illustrated, or reproduced, but a process where the illustration ("photograph") is part of conceptualisation (ideation).

James Sterling and the act of drawing

The act of drawing was vital for the architect James Sterling (1924-92) in the creative process: 'I go through a process and makes doodles of different possibilities. Then, when one begins to understand what one is actually aiming for, one begins to intellectualise about it. It's a combination of what's coming out of the end of my fingers and what I'm thinking at the time. I generally do that in the office, sometimes in aeroplanes'. Interestingly, Sterling's approach to idea development was his use of A4 sheets of tracing laid over existing drawings, using them as a framework on which to sketch additional possibilities. In contrast, models did not form part of the office's design process. (Source: Circling The Square, Exhibition at RIBA London, 8 March - 25 June, 2017)

Idea considerations

When Hong Kong graphic designer Toby Ng was asked: "What is the most important thing for you to consider when you’re coming up with new creative ideas and solutions?", his answer was: "Every idea must be appropriate, meaningful and understandable". His consideration could also be regarded as an expression of what characterises design ideation. That is, ideation is a purposeful activity whereby the idea generated is meaningful, is appropriately developed, and communicated in ways that are understandable.