Why workshop?

In the digital age, and with so much stuff happening online, and accelerated by the Covid pandemic, why not focus on virtual ideation in cyberspace, or screen-based ideation, rather than in real space, or physical workshop-based ideation? However, design ideation, in the real world, is not just an exercise in the abstract that can be carried out online but involves concrete, hands-on activity too. Ideation, then, calls for imagination and analysis of both the abstract and concrete (material) elements of the problem identified, from contextual and cultural to technical and environmental aspects. In this endeavour, in the workshop setting, the participants try out and visualise their ideas using a range of ideation tools, from drawing and photographs to collage and 3D sketch models. The participants, then, reflect on, display, share and discuss the outcomes, which become the workshop learning experience.

Ideation workflow

Analogue ideation tools, such as pen & paper or modelling with craft materials, have their use in the ideation workflow but so do digital tools, such as CAD and 3D printing. Is the choice betwen the two tool categories down to personal preference, or horses for courses? That is to say, are the tools used influenced by or dependent on a particular task or activities and therefore require different skill sets? Or, is it the case that ideation is such a broad activity that engages both analogue and digital tools in ways that allow ideators the speed and ease of the digital world while also providing the analogue warmth and human touch aspect through the interaction with analogue tools? If so, any combination of digital and analogue tools suggests there is no right or wrong way of ideating. Ideation, then, depends on how designers can enhance the flow of ideas through experimenting and staying curious. Because in the ideation space designers don’t know what is going to happen. This makes them more aware of what is happening right in front of them and enable them to react to and interact with the materials and tools at hand. In this sense, ideation is as much about ways of thinking as application of tools and technique.