Ideation workshop: Prompts for ideas

Monday, 6 February 2023

Prompts for ideas

There are many ways to get ideation started using conceptual tools, from words and sketching to modelling and computing, and where analogue and digital are intertwined. As to using words (natural language), development in artificial intelligence, AI, has advanced the early prompt tools such as Google Images, which allows users to search the web for images (since 2001) or reverse image search (since 2011). Here, users can simply click on the camera icon to upload an image and get started. But technology is advancing fast. With the emergence of generative text-to-image systems, such as Dall-e-2 or Stable Diffusion, written prompts, that is, short text descriptions are used to generate an image. In contrast, Chat GPT is a language-focused application of AI, and so doesn’t have the ability to create images with AI. Ideation tools, then, including AI, when there is fluidity between analogue and digital, between words and images, where pen and paper sketching mingles with computing, help elicit creativity and provide inspiration in both familiar and novel ways.

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Welcome

This blog is for ideators engaged in design and architecture.

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. Driven by curiosity, 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 their own sketchbooks, laptops and simple crafting tools for making "stuff", using 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.