Grounded Ideas

Art and design schools like Central Saint Martins provide students with space and time to grow and mature creative ideas, while remaining grounded in a specific craft. Craft is a divisive element to this form of education because it somehow constrains, shapes and confines the students idea formation (ideation) in order for their thinking processes to expand.

Teaching ideation skills?

Is it possible to teach ideation skills? This might at first seem like a strange one to ask designers because most of them have strong ideas what they want their work to look like. But it's a valuable topic to consider, and it can be a challenge to "teach" designers how to think in terms of conceptual tools and how working this way can lead to interesting and unexpected results. For the ideation workshop, it starts with creating a safe and supportive environment where the participants are able to explore and develop ideas without prejudice or fear of ridicule. The outcome of the workshop is entirely up to the participants; they are in the driving seat when ideating.