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.