Prototyping as an ideation tool

Ideas can be abstract, concrete or visual and are generated and expressed in various mediums using a range of ideation tools. So, for example, concrete ideas can take many forms but what they have in common is that they are all tangible forms of ideas. Such a tangible form is the prototype, which can be anything, from a roughh sketch to a simple version of a final product, say, a mock-up. Prototyping, then, is a way of ideating, or about bringing conceptual ideas to life and exploring their real-world impact so that the designer(s) involved can make appropriate refinements or possible changes in direction. In other words, protyping helps turning abstract ideas into concrete ones.

Workshop, not talkshop

Brainstorming is a widely used group activity whereby the participants generate spontaneous ideas which are gathered and shared on, say, Post-it Notes. The ideation workshop, however, doesn't begin with brainstorming. Instead the partcipants start ideating alone, on their own initiative, and share their ideas at the end of the workshop. The workshop, moreover, in contrast to brainstorming, is more inclusive in that it allows a level playing field beween the participants. That is, in groups, the more extrovert participants, at ease with expressing themselves verbally, tend to drive brainstorming whereas the quiet ones are at risk of being overshadowed. Also, brainstorming sessions may be biased towards "groupthink" and as a result the outcome may not be representative of the full range of the group's ideas. Another difference is that in the workshop participants engage with a range of ideation tools, from sketching to rough modelling - not just words. The outcome of the workshop, then, produces more thoughtful and genuine ideas, and the ideas presentation becomes a shared learning experience.