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.