Storytelling as ideation tool

Within the wide format of the ideation workshop, there is scope for using storytelling as a tool for generating and communicating ideas, both verbally and visually. This may be the case not least in dealing with collective issues of well-being, such as sustainability and climate change, issues which can be controversial and divisive often amounting to "wicked problems" where there is no single solution to the problem. The interactive mode of storytelling can be a particular effective tool for identifying and solving environmental issues because it allows for a diversity of voices drawing from a variety of sources. Moreover, ideation in the interactive narrative mode may not only help initiate and articulate new ideas in the eco design field but also provide different perspectives on interdependent local and global environmental issues thereby helping identify opportunities to address the climate change as well as stimulating imagination of future scenarios, actions and design solutions.

Sketching for 3D printing

Pen and paper sketching can be a standalone ideation tool but to take the idea further, say in the form of a 3D physical object the freehand sketch would have to be translated into a sketch model using a range of materials such as card, plastic, wood or clay. Alternatively, in the the digital era, the 2D pen and paper sketch would be converted into a 3D physical object using 3D printing, that is, the pen and paper sketch would be scanned or photographed, or produced on a digital drawing tablet, and imported into Photoshop, converted into a 3D digital model using CAD and then imported as an STL file to be dowloaded  for 3D printing using ABS filament plastics, the most used 3D printing material for models. How would the two ideation processes, that is, working in the analogue or digital mode respectively, compare in terms of tool skills or time consumed? Do the chosen ideation tools, analogue or digital, impact on the ideation process and if so, how? For example, do analogue ideation tools such as freehand sketching or physical sketch modelling afford more creative stimulation? Or, does the use of digital tools suggest a more linear ideation process with less scope or encouragement for iteration or improvisation? And what about hybrid ideation modes? Discuss.