Train of thought

Train of thought, as understood by Thomas Hobbes, the English philosopher (1588-1679) was the succession of one thought to another. A train of thought, then, refers to the interconnection of a sequence, series or succession of thoughts or events. It may also refer to a path of reasoning. Or, how this sequence leads from one idea to another. The sequence, however, is not necessarily a linear one. And so, and notably in ideation, the sequence is rarely straightforward but rather an iterative or cyclical process, of trial-and-error. However, train of thought can also be interpreted literally. For example, Charles Dickens, the English novelist (1812-1870) found that, on a train journey, observing from a railway carriage was 'always a wonderful suggestive place'. Indeed, there are many places and spaces - and activities that can inspire creativity or trigger imagination, from the inherent character of nature to divers social or cultural settings. Indeed, the more unique or unusual the physical spaces or place, or unconventional the activity, on their own or in imaginative combinations, the greater the chance to set in motion pioneering thoughts or breakthrough ideas.

Idea curation

The rapid advancement of generative AI may suggest that AI and automation could replace entry-level designers, that is, designers whose main tasks are with creating repetitive designs. But even more senior designers might be at risk as their roles are becoming impacted of AI which is capable of keeping up with the latest design trends and fulfil the needs of mainstream clients,. One approach to turning the risk into opportunity could be designers adapting to a new role where they can act as curators of AI-generated products and services, rather than being sole ideators themselves. That is, using AI as a tool, pulling and filtering ideas from as many places and people as possible (sourcing, organising and prioritising) and then, in conversation with others (sharing insights), asserting and selecting the best. In this way, AI can augment creativity as well as making it more challenging. Indeed, many designers prefer using generative AI over working without it, and they collaborate more effectively when using it. AI-proofed designers, then, may be those whose ideas are crafted and curated with AI integrated in their workflow.

Blank canvas

The idiom "blank canvas" traditionally refers to a painter's canvas that has yet to be painted on. As such it implies the canvas can be easily filled with entirely new things, or, a metaphor for limitless possibilities. But when anything is possible, where to begin? This highlights the reality of most design activities which are full of constraints as expressed in the design brief (objective, site, time, budget etc). Limitation, then, forces the designer to embrace constraints imposed by the design brief. Paradoxically, then, constraint heightens rather than feebles the ideation process. That is, constraint acts as a driver for innovation, not unlike the proverb "necessity is the mother of innovation", or, "if someone really needs to do something, they will find a way of doing it."

Idea theft?

The quote "good artists copy, great artists steal" is often attributed to Pablo Picasso, but it is actually a paraphrase of a statement made by T.S. Eliot, who said, "Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal." But what is the difference between stealing and copying in creative contexts? One interpretation is that to steal is to be inspired whereas to copy is to imitate. Another, and according to artist Adam Kurtz, is that the difference is intent: ”Imitation is laziness or refusal to accept your influences. Inspiration is recognizing that influence and turning it into something new". So, you may copy, or steal an idea, perhaps change it a bit and then claim it as your own. But also, there is a difference between imitation and best practice. Because learning best practice may involve copying, say, traditional techniques or methods used and handed down by masters of the past. So, paradoxically, to generate and develop your own ideas in order to innovate you may both copy and steal from what already exists. And potentially more so with help of artificial intelligence, AI, that is, using generative AI as a powerful ideation tool for "appropriating" others' ideas. But also using AIdeation to explore further or be inspired by others' ideas. So the notion of "idea theft" seems distorted. That is, culture, both material and non-material has largely evolved through the borrowing and reinterpretation of previous ideas. Moreover, AI is not capable of stealing ideas in the same way that a human can. Idea theft, then, highlights the ethics of ideation. That is, for creatives to give credit, proper attribution or reference to someone or something that has influenced their creations.

The Aha! moment

The proverbial Aha! moment, or sudden insight, as typically experienced by creative practitioners, is a phenomenon that has been studied and theorised about by neuroscientists and cognitive psychologists for over a century. Most recent studies, however, show that insight is not a sudden flash that comes from nowhere. In fact, it is the result of the unconscious mind piecing together loosely connected bits of information stemming from prior knowledge and experiences and forming novel associations among them. That is, in contrast to analytical problem solving, which involves the use of a systematic process or logical reasoning to arrive at a solution to a problem, and where individuals can typically fully explain the steps taken to arrive at the solution, with insight, individuals cannot readily reconstruct the procedure followed to reach the solution..That is, problem solving by insight versus analysis are different in that creativity is not an insight moment although insight can produce creativity. The relationship, then, between insight and creativity is a controversial one. And so, the Aha! moments remain one of the most intriguing and unexplained processes of the human mind  Source: https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/65968

New AI tools signify ideation paradigm shift

The last twelve months have seen a rapid advance of artificial intelligence, AI, with the release of  consumer software applications such as ChatGPT and DALL.E. And as with most new pieces of technology, designers get new ideas from them. While current generations of AI use pattern detection or rule-following to help analyse data and make predictions, the advent of transformer architectures, developed by Google and Open AI has unlocked a new field: Generative Artificial Intelligence, GenAI. which is a type of AI that can generate original content in the form of text, images, audio, video etc. However, GenAI is not without drawbacks, including issues relating to privacy and security, bias, transparency, copyright, and equal access. And so while ChatGPT can act as a fast and powerful research tool, designers must still ensure that they validate any critical information from reliable sources. Yet the benefits of GenAI are obvious: For example, text-to-image generation can assist in rapidly creating visual representations of design concepts, including rapid prototyping allowing architects to explore various design alternatives and refine their ideas before investing significant time and resources in detailed design development. The large language model can also facilitate effective communication and collaboration among architects, clients, and other stakeholders conveying their ideas more clearly. In graphic design, by using ChatGPT, the tasks of choosing, say, colour palette, finding a catchy headlines, or deciding on a layout become easier and faster. Or, in product design, the model can generate multiple design options for a specific design task, giving the designer a variety of alternatives to choose from. All in all, the increasing use of GenAI, both in education and professional practice signifies a paradigm shift in the world of AI where GenAI is becoming an effective co-designer for content creation across disciplines.

Ideation and reflective design

The application of generative AI, GAI to design ideation raises the question what is the imapact of GAI on reflective design. That is, designers typically reflect on their actions, both during the design process ("thinking on one's feet") and after it, in what Schön calls reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action (The Reflective Practitioner, 1984). Moreover, reflective design, which implies critically thinking about the design process, suggests that designers need to reflect on the unconscious ways in how technology, such as GAI shape designers'  decision making, actions, and design proposals. For example, what is the impact of GAI, such as communication with a text-to-text model or text-to-image model, on designer ability to uncover hidden biases or limitations on design practice. In Reflective Design (Sengers et al, 2005) the authors argue, when designing with technology: 'Each person has preconceived notions shaped by their personal journey and that affects their practice as a designer. Thus, one needs to unpack personal ideologies and determine how they influence the reflective design processes.' Moreover, the authors state: 'Technology shouldn’t be viewed as the optimal medium for design; technology imposes its own set of constraints and values to its users which should be addressed.' The notion of the reflective practitioner, and reflective design, then, serve as a guide for designers in the age of AI too.