Lines of thought

'Taking a line for a walk' - a quote from the artist Paul Klee suggesting moving freely without hindrance and by which the line is described as 'a dot that went for a walk' - a point shifting its position forward. As such, the line is an evocative metaphor for generating and capturing an idea, such as  'on the back of an envelope'. Or, the metaphor of lassoing, that is, capturing an idea like catching an animal by throwing the ring of a lasso over its head. Or, to quote Henri Matisse: 'drawing is putting a line around an idea'. Such sayings underline the dynamic nature of the line. Or, to quote Klee again, 'a drawing is simply a line going for a walk', where the line becomes a symbol for the imaginary lines of projecting an idea. But what about expressions such as 'draw the line' meaning 'to never do something because you think it's wrong'. This connotation seems quite contradictory to Klee's notion of taking a line for a walk. Or, 'walk the line', a prison term which means 'follow the rules, stay out of trouble'. Again the opposite meaning of a line that represents moving freely. A line, then, can be interpreted figuratively or literally. Lines of thought.

The excitement of discovery

When working on a challenging problem, the solution might seemingly arrive out-of-the-blue, in what is often referred to as the “Aha!” moment. This moment of sudden insight is unpredictable, and a subjective experience but often accompanied by strong positive emotions. As such it might amount to the excitement of discovery. Or, in the words of Bertrand Russell, the philosopher and mathematician (1872-1970): 'Nothing in the world is more exciting than a moment of sudden discovery or invention, and many more people are capable of experiencing such moments than is sometimes thought.'.

Learning from reverse engineering

In product design, reverse engineering is to unearth certain components that can be repurposed for different application. Theft occurs in certain cases where the entire set of components that make up a product is appropriated and for which reason patents and copyright were created . More often, however, reverse engineering, both literally and figuratively is a legitimate way to establish what is going on in a specific field, practice or occupation. In these cases, reversed engineering is a form of dependent creation as evidenced in how original and valuable creations were built on the knowledge, experience, and copying of elements of what came before. Indeed, it is how we learn as humans, from an early age - we copy, then extend. That is, there is always some level of copying in accumulating knowledge directed to discovery and learning. Learning from reverse engineering, "reverse ideation" would mean keeping track of one's own ideation process, say, through sketches - what the architect Michael Graves would call "the referential sketch", or through a record of "swiped ideas" or inspirations from the the web. The recorded ideation process could then be reflected upon, and analysed for links and influences and in so doing becoming a learning experience.

Agency of freehand drawing

The arguments for and against drawing, or rather thinking with pen and paper versus with an electronic device, such as a digital tablet have been going on for years. Yet no firm conclusion has been reached either way. Yes, drawing on digital devices, and facilitated by software is generally considered to be easier and faster. And sharing digital work is much faster than sharing paper sketches. Also, improving, deleting, scaling or copying is more convenient on a digital device than on paper. Yet drawing on paper is a grounding experience - the friction of the pencil on paper guided by the hand has a different feel to it compared with using a stylus on a screen assisted by software. But when creative deadlines are tight, paper drawing can be seen as a time-consuming luxury. But, as practitioners of drawing on paper would argue, this is a luxury needed to allow designers to work independently, transparently and honestly in the early stages of designing. That is, the freehand drawing, in contrast to the "black box" of computing, is capable of expressing thoughts and feelings that complete the original quality of the design idea. Although it is for individual designers to decide what tool(s) they find most beneficial for their ideation practice, the aim of the workshop is to raise awareness of ideation through engagement with a range of ideation tools.

The exchange value of ideas

What happens to an idea's innate value when replaced by exchange value? Let's start with the ideation-workshop. The workshop's defining quality, as learning outcome, is for participants to explore ideation tools of their choice in order to raise their awareness of the ideation process. In this, there is no external assessment only participants' own perception or judgement to determine the criteria for most favoured ideation tool or tools. The workshop activities, then, are driven by curiosity and the value of the tool or tools can’t be arrived at through an outside, top-down measure. That is, participants can assess the value only by individually and carefully attending to what the value the tools or tools contain and, on their own, concluding their merit. Yet the end point for the ideator, or working designer is to create a product or service for sale. That is, the idea going to market. Once the product or service enters the market, the intrinsic value of the idea behind the product or service is emptied out, compacted by the market’s logic of ranking, until there’s only relational worth, or exchange value. That is, the idea has no longer interior worth. Instead, the personal, or intrinsic value of the idea is for the market to decide. And so, the workshop is evidence of the liberating fact that ideas, and ideation have intrinsic value not be measured, or processed as market productivity, or captured as market value. Now, what happens to the idea in the digital culture where everything seems dogged by digital tracking, where any online activity is capturable by artificial intelligence and transmuted into data? In this digital scenario, the ideator is a data worker which suggests that the ideator must engage in authorly self-promotion to replace the innate value of the idea with exchange value. In other words, the ideator must monetise their ideas in order to make a living from their ideas. That is, Gen AI, as data collection technology, hollows out authenticity and authorship which means the ideator is faced with crumpling self-worth as creator. This blog was inspired by Thea Lim, The Collapse of Self-Worth in the Digital Age (2024).

ideas in things

Age-old analogue ideation tools and methods, such as sketching and physical modelling, may have taken a back seat in the digital culture when content-creating tools like ChatGPT or Copilot have become mainstream. So, what then the future of traditional ideation tools such as pen and paper? Nesta (2019) found that organisations are becoming less experimental and more risk-averse in their approach to digital technologies - they prefer to let others experiment and then adopt the ideas that work best. Arguably, then, at least at individual level, analogue tools remain useful to designers to stimulate and capture the flow of ideas. And so, the pencil could be seen as a tool performing a role similar to that of a craftsman's tool - a tool that reflects a hands-on approach to design that connects with the idea of making things. That is, applying hand and mind to ideation, as in "thinking with a pencil" reflects the concept of the thing as idea. Or in the words of the poet William Carlos Williams: 'Say it, no ideas but in things'. That is, to focus on objects rather than mere concepts, on actual things rather than abstract characteristics of things. That is, concrete rather than abstract ideas ('idea' understood as a basic element of thought that can be either visual, concrete or abstract)..Considering the concept of the thing as idea, Dough Stows, author of The Wisdom of Our Hands (2022) writes: 'The mention of any object creates a visualised idea in our minds - we form an idea of the thing. Moreover, metaphors provide the basis of all human creativity, and those metaphors must of necessity be drawn from real tools, real processes, real understanding of concrete phenomenon, for the ideas that have merit are drawn from reality, from the experience of things.' This may suggest that designers overall favour concrete or visual ideas, or both over abstract ones. If so, this may resonate with a central feature of design activity where designers rely on 'generating fairly quickly a satisfactory solution rather than a prolonged analysis of the problem' (Nigel Cross, 1982)

AI-driven workshop

The intention of the workshop is that of full sensory engagement in the ideation process using both analogue and digital tools. With the rapid advancement of generative AI, however, and its impact on design, both in the profession and academia, this may suggest a fully AI-driven workshop. Already AI algorithms have proved to be a useful and efficient assistant augmenting, or streamlining the design process, notably in visualising ideas producing images to a quality that compares with the best in photography or rendering, and in a matter of seconds. And so, the workshop's focus would be ideation through text-to-image prompting techniques. Such focusing would be in line with the long-term development of designers' relationships with technology, that is, both with and through machines, as manifested by the personal computer, the internet and virtual reality. Indeed designers are at once driver of, and driven by technology. Yet would designers like to be so dependent on AI models that the human dimension of design would take a backseat? And so, what happens to intellectual and emotional challenges of the design brief, to personal satisfaction of problem-solving and innovation, or to the playfulness of human imagination? In short, what is it to be a human designer in the age of AI? But, and here lies a paradox: generative AI stimulates and augments imagination blurring the boundaries between reality and representation, between the real and the artificial. In other words, an AI idea generator can be seen as a form of hyperreality and simulacrum (Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation, 1981), or representations without real-world originals.

Ideation workshop facilitates design thinking

The designed life is about possibilities: What if? And so, new ideas are born out of curiosity. Design ideation, then, captures creative energy and fuels optimism about what is possible: Change! Ideation, moreover, inspires collaboration and nurtures healthy competition. From first thought, the great idea develops through questioning, experimentation, and trial and error. Ideation acknowledges human intuition and common sense and rejects reducing complex problem-solving to a computational process. Ideation invites reflection and encourages designers to spend more time thinking, to focus on improving quality in their ideas. Indeed more digital devices leave less time to concentrate and to think without interruptions. And while digital communications technologies, AI included can substantially speed up the design process, they are also squeezing out individual thinking time. To meet this challenge, the ideation workshop, a liminal space encourages lateral thinking, that is, participants move from one known idea to creating new ideas using both quantifiable (fixed or universal) data and qualitative (descriptive or conceptual) data.

Human-centred ideation

Distinction between the conceptual and manual aspects of design production emerged in the modern period when growing professionalisation resulted in the separation of science from art, of engineering from architecture and of the designer as "thinker" (direction) from that of "maker" (execution). In the digital age, however, the old distinction is less accurate or relevant as the design process, as a collaborative activity sits at the intersection between conception and execution, and facilitated by digital tools. That is to say, conception is enhanced by generative artificial intelligence (AI), and execution optimised by computer-aided-design (CAD), computer-aided-engineering (CAE) and computer-aided-manufacturing (CAM). Indeed the design process is, for all practical purposes supported if not driven by computer soft- and hardware, such as Building Information Modelling, BIM. It is against this development that the ideation workshop faces a challenge - learning how to ideate in ways that do not lose the human perspective and user influence on the design process. For this reason, the workshop is built around participatory, hands-on studio activity recognising that while AI and digital tools are effective they cannot fully resemble complex human cognition.

Time and space for reflection

Ideation involves generating, developing and communicating ideas. This process requires a combination of inspiration, discipline, and problem-solving skills.While ideation takes place in many places, it calls for time and space for reflection often provided by the studio. The studio culture, however, has come under pressure in the digital age which tends to favour immediate gain or short-term result over long-term merit or reward.Yet to counter the digital tendency to short-termism, many creatives, and throughout history have been known to practice stoicism, a philosophy that emphasizes reason and self-control. Stoicism, then, may enhance creativity by encouraging a positive mindset for dealing with unique challenges, criticism and rejection that are inherent in the creative process. By accepting what they can control and what they cannot, creatives may find stoicism helpful to stay focused on the task at hand and maintain a sense of perspective and avoid becoming overwhelmed by obstacles.

Ideaflation

AIdeation, or ideation facilitated by generative AI, is adding to the risk of idea overload, that is, having too many ideas and being overwhelmed with choice.Yes, ideators, with the help of GenAI can run the risk of being overstimulated for their own good. But there are ways to handle ideaflation too. 1. Jot down your ideas in real time (words, images, sound). 2. Record your ideas, and store them in a folder so you can retrieve them as and when. 3. Revisit your ideas and update as necessary. 4. Share your ideas with others - don't hoard ideas for the sake of it. And so, beat ideaflation by managing the flow or stream of ideas creatively. In this endeavour, a creative mindset plays an important role not only for producing something new but also for driving and delivering the ideation process. But remember, a good idea is nothing but an idea. Or, to paraphrase Shakespeare; What's in an idea? That which we call an idea by any other name would be as good.

Ideation toolbox

The evolution of computing platforms, online networking and cloud-based CAD have accelerated the digital design process and the result is that new generations of designers across industries are getting less familiar with traditional studio skills such as freehand drawing or hands-on physical modelling. In fact, virtually no product today is created without the use of CAD software—through design, simulation and manufacturing. But digital default settings also impact face-to-face interpersonal skills and designers commonly find themselves physically isolated with their own screens. Yet what are designers' tool needs in order to achieve, or retain harmonious passion for ideation? CAD, for example, has been seen as a technology that takes away from the creative design process as designers might immediately jump onto CAD tools after coming up with an idea, an idea that, moreover might have been generated by AI chatbots. Everyday casual studio observation, however, suggests that increased screen time doesn't necessarily reject analogue tools such as the sketchbook or the whiteboard. But whatever toolbox, analogue or digital, designing involves tools options for designers to choose from, at least in the early stages of the design process.

AI isn't the enemy of creativity

Generative artificial intelligence technologies are making rapid advancement in creating, or at least facilitating new content such as audio, text, images, and video. Does this suggest that AI driven design education would reduce the role of face-to-face teaching or make facilitators redundant? In support of  in-person teaching, such as workshops is that AI is not yet capable of providing the kind of personalised and nuanced interactions that human facilitators are able to provide, including emotional intelligence. That is, AI can be a valuable tool to supplement or enhance but not replace traditional facilitation methods. And so research at Harvard university, for example, suggests that generative AI tools can augment the creativity of designers (and employees and clients) and help them generate and identify novel ideas as well as improving the quality of raw ideas. In short, generative AI’s greatest potential is not replacing humans; it is to assist humans in their efforts to create hitherto unimaginable solutions. In the debate about AI/human interaction, moreover, the game of chess is illuminating because chess computers with sufficient processing strength will always be able to beat any human, calculating the most efficient move. Yet the world of chess didn't crumble because of AI because the game is a passion, a source of intellectual combat, an art form or a way to test and improve each player's mental and creative abilities. And so is design - and a reminder that chess and design both have a rich history and cultural significance. https://hbr.org/2023/07/how-generative-ai-can-augment-human-creativity.

Ideation and the blank piece of paper

The metaphorical concept of beginning with a "blank piece of paper" or a "clean slate" typically heralds a fresh start or starting afresh without reference to previous circumstance or condition. But designers faced with a blank piece of paper may experience creative blockage. Yet there's plenty of advice to overcome a creative block, from practice, practice, and more practice to brainstorming to using search engines, such as Google or AI text generator such as ChatGPT. Why, then, one could argue, bother with a blank piece of paper when there's lots of online stuff and ideas to get started with? The questioning of this approach is that ideators would follow someone else's initiative rather than finding their own way onto something new or innovative. Moreover, in education, the risk that ChatGPT might compromise learning, notably critical thinking in design. Yet what is a fresh start or a new idea anyway? Could it be that the notion of beginning with a blank piece of paper is misunderstood because, from a biological and developmental perspective, humans don't start as blank slates. That is, humans are seen as born with genetic predispositions and are influenced by the environment and upbringing from the moment they are born. Accordingly, these genetic and environmental factors, including the use of technology such as AI systems, contribute to our individual growth and personality and influence our ideas.

Moving thought

The workshop activity reflects two aspects of design thinking and ideation. First, generating ideas, that is, drawing associations between diverse and unrelated things known as divergent thinking ("thinking outside the box"). Second, weighing up which ideas are worth pursuing, that is, developing ideas that requires a more controlled and deliberate mental process, known as convergent thinking. It is when thinking outside the box, or during mind-wandering, when thoughts are freer and less task-related, that we are more likely to draw connections between diverse ideas and have novel thoughts – the embodiment of divergent thinking. Now, research suggests that low-intensity physical activity can enhance creative thinking, and divergent thinking in particular. That is, creativity appears to be enhanced through the very act of moving the body in whatever way feels natural, allowing emotions to arise and be processed through spontaneous motion. Pedagogically too, body movement can amplify creativity. For example, Johannes Itten, at the Bauhaus, the German design school showed how gentle body movements could augment creative drawing and constructivist model making.

Brainstorming

Idea generation is often associated with so called brainstorming where a group of people interact to suggest ideas spontaneously in response to a prompt. The ideation workshop, however, isn't a group brainstorming session. The reason is that the experience with the workshop, and its outcomes, show that collective brainstorming techniques may be inclined towards group think. Also, and although brainstorming may boost the feel-good factor in the group, scientific research suggests that collective brainstorming doesn't produces more or better ideas than the same number of individuals would produce working independently. So, the workshop studio format is such that the participants brainstorm individually, possibly in pairs, and then later come together as a group and discuss each person's ideas, which in turn may yield more ideas. Working individually, however, will only be better once everyone has a clear understanding of the task or problem set for the workshop. Therefore, the participants first come together to get a common understanding of the task or problem at hand and then split off to think about solutions followed by group presentation and the sharing of ideas.

Trail of ideas

'We do not belong to those who have ideas only among books, when stimulated by books. It is our habit to think outdoors — walking, leaping, climbing, dancing, preferably on lonely mountains or near the sea where even the trails become thoughtful.' So wrote Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), who made walking a centerpiece of his philosophy.  And so, too, we can consider the idea as an element of thought in transit, and ideation as a journey that manifests itself in walking, or, "taking an idea for a walk". Walking is, of course, practically and physically beneficial too, but also, as free movement, closely related to creative thought. Indeed, ideation has its own immediate reward and no surprise then that ideators never sit still for long experiencing walking as creative empowerment. Letting one’s thoughts wander, thinking on one’s feet, adapting as one goes along - these are no simple figures of speech but reflect mental and sensory openness. Walking, then, leads to places of discovery - a trail of ideas.

Ideation themes

Each workshop has an ideation theme or task agreed beforehand. Themes can take on many forms, appearing differently depending on the context. They can relate to place, function, artefact, or narrative, and be either common, universal or specific. Common themes often resonate across genres or disciplines, whereas a universal theme is a central idea or concept resonating with people across cultures and periods. Unlike more specific themes, which may be tied to a particular story or culture, universal themes explore fundamental aspects of the human condition that reflect real-life experiences. A good idea typically  involves making connections between concepts and life experiences. Inspiration for ideas can come from the past, future, or the world around you, and there is a range of devices to help achieve this. For example, physical and digital tools including drawing, modelling and computing. Or literary devices like metaphor, symbolism, and character development to explore deeper meaning. But whatever theme, they can inspire us to explore ideas which reflect the essence of our human experience and place in the world.

Face-to-face-interaction

Viewing design as a social and cultural pursuit, coupled with knowledge, skills and experience, central to the workshop is face-to-face interaction. This seems especially relevant when the internet allows us to work from anywhere in the world. Indeed, going online has diminished the need to talk to our colleagues in person and increased time spent attached to digital devices and screens - and often a lot of those hours are spent alone. Moreover, as most commercial and social transactions have migrated online, where they’re cheaper and quicker, the design office, or the studio is going virtual too. Also, digital computation, including apps and generative AI, is challenging raw brain power when it comes to searching, gathering and sorting information as well as generating new ideas from extensive data sets. So, when electronic media informs, stimulates, and guides creativity, who needs face-to-face-interaction? Now, designers themselves have to find answers to that question. But while digital devices are great for sharing information, they are not necessarily great for deepening human connections and social cohesion, particularly when considering the misuse, and abuse of social media platforms. In short, the workshop suggests that we should use our mobile devices and digital tools to augment, not to replace, face-to-face interaction – that is, if we want to create in healthier and happier ways.