Ideation workshop: November 2012

Sunday 11 November 2012

Ideation Silicon Valley style

'If you have basic programming ability – which we'll all have if we complete the Udacity's beginners' online course in computer science, – and a bit of creativity, "you could come up with an idea that might just change the world"', says Sergey Brin, Google's co-founder, and one of the collaborators with the online course. But then that's Silicon Valley for you. Udacity is an offshoot of Stanford University, and their online courses are offered for free, aiming at revolutionising access to higher education. http://www.udacity.com/

Thursday 8 November 2012

Ideation sketching

Sketching on paper is not just a technical skill. It is a form of visual thinking with a pen. Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks are prime examples of ideation sketching, and part of the design process. Today, the pen is used in both analogue and digital modes to help designers build form. Indeed the Renaissance artists' freehand perspective sketch has its contemporary equivalence in CAD modelling and 2D graphic software tools.

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Welcome

This blog is for ideators engaged in architecture, art, and design.

An idea was needed, well thought out, clearly presented.

Le Corbusier

Also:

https://design-ideation.blogspot.com

https://twitter.com/DesignIdeation

IDEATION WORKSHOP

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: To raise awareness of design ideation* and provide participants with an opportunity to reflect on their own design practice through the use of ideation tools**.

FORMAT: Self-directed, hands-on studio activity where participants work alone or collaboratively, in pairs within the group. The workshop is informal but rigorous, non-judgmental but constructive and ends with ideas presentation to the whole group (plenary).

THEME: Each workshop has an ideation theme or task agreed beforehand. Themes can relate to place, function, artefact, or narrative, and be either common, universal or specific.

IDEATION PROTOCOL: The workshop has an optional research component whereby participants keep track of their ideation process using a protocol specifically designed for the workshop ("Reflection-in-action").***

WORKSHOP RESOURCES: Participants should have open access to wifi and facilities for making "stuff", including simple crafting tools and scrap materials.

LEARNING OUTCOME: Participants gain greater awareness of design ideation and the role of ideation tools in their own creative practice ("learning by doing"). The Ideation protocol acts as a self-diagnostic tool ("Reflection-on-action").

TIMESCALE: Each workshop lasts 3-4 hours (morning or afternoon session) or, alternatively, a full working day.

PARTICIPANTS: The workshop is suitable for design students (all levels) and practitioners alike. Group size: 6-12. The workshop language is English.

CONTACT: To participate, please contact Ben at studio.ben.jonson@gmail.com

* Design ideation is seen as a matter of generating, developing and communicating ideas, where 'idea' is understood as a basic element of thought that can be either visual, concrete or abstract. It is a purposeful activity (in the sense that a design is of practical service) that goes beyond the randomness of "brainstorming", but stops short of evaluating ideas per se. Idea development means moving from the general to the particular of the idea (through filtering and refining), and idea communication means the need for ideas to be externalised, or nobody else would know about them.

** Ideation tools are design tools which are purposefully used to help generate, develop and communicate ideas and include freehand drawing (sketches), words (spoken and written), sketch modelling (physical models), and computing (2D/3D software and AI technologies).

*** The workshop can be a vehicle for research in and of itself.

Sunday 11 November 2012

Ideation Silicon Valley style

Thursday 8 November 2012

Ideation sketching

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