Why workshop?

In the digital age, and with so much stuff happening online, and accelerated by the Covid pandemic, why not focus on virtual ideation in cyberspace, or screen-based ideation, rather than in real space, or physical workshop-based ideation? However, design ideation, in the real world, is not just an exercise in the abstract that can be carried out online but involves concrete, hands-on activity too. Ideation, then, calls for imagination and analysis of both the abstract and concrete (material) elements of the problem identified, from contextual and cultural to technical and environmental aspects. In this endeavour, in the workshop setting, the participants try out and visualise their ideas using a range of ideation tools, from drawing and photographs to collage and 3D sketch models. The participants, then, reflect on, display, share and discuss the outcomes, which become the workshop learning experience.

Ideation workflow

Analogue ideation tools, such as pen & paper or modelling with craft materials, have their use in the ideation workflow but so do digital tools, such as CAD and 3D printing. Is the choice betwen the two tool categories down to personal preference, or horses for courses? That is to say, are the tools used influenced by or dependent on a particular task or activities and therefore require different skill sets? Or, is it the case that ideation is such a broad activity that engages both analogue and digital tools in ways that allow ideators the speed and ease of the digital world while also providing the analogue warmth and human touch aspect through the interaction with analogue tools? If so, any combination of digital and analogue tools suggests there is no right or wrong way of ideating. Ideation, then, depends on how designers can enhance the flow of ideas through experimenting and staying curious. Because in the ideation space designers don’t know what is going to happen. This makes them more aware of what is happening right in front of them and enable them to react to and interact with the materials and tools at hand. In this sense, ideation is as much about ways of thinking as application of tools and technique.

Do designers need a studio?

The workshop is based on the art and design tradition and the premise that the participants have access to studio space, that is, a workplace for conceiving, designing and developing new products or objects. Yet ideation takes place in many places, not just in the studio - so why the need of a studio at the ideation stage of the design process? However, the physical studio matters, notwithstanding the rise of virtual space denoted by the internet, and both as medium (VR) and place, as the studio provides designers with necessary physical space for hands-on practice where they can test their ideas and carry out real experiments, with real tools and real materials, in real time. Moreover, the studio provides a collaborative space where designers can be in close proximity to their fellow designers - a physical presence that encourages face-to-face communication and the building of studio culture. However, in the digital age, the physical space of the studio typically interacts with the virtual space of the internet, as exemplified by online tools or social networking sites. Such tools or sites can facilitate dissemination and sharing of information and ideas but also make virtual pushes into physical spaces. Yet virtual interaction cannot replace physical interaction when creating ideas and so the studio remains core to designer activity, and across disciplines. Or, to quote Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple: 'There’s a temptation in our networked age to think that ideas can be developed by email and iChat. That’s crazy. Creativity comes from spontaneous meetings, from random discussions. You run into someone, you ask what they’re doing, you say ‘wow,’ and soon you’re cooking up all sorts of ideas.'

Develop an ideation mindset

The workshop environment encourages immediacy of ideation - signifying creative thought and action. A transformative experience whereby ideas are generated not at arms length, or from a distance but in the here and now, in front of your eyes and in your hands. Ideation cannot be delegated so be curious and experimental, and ask questions. And, then, communicate and share effectively the idea(s) to all ready to listen - from next seat colleagues to next door neighbours or anyone within earshot standing by. Ideators adopt an iterative, experimental and ever evolving approach; from physical to online presence, from pen and paper to latest technology, devices and apps. Think, act and manage your ideation process!

Generation S

Baby boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Gen Z are generation labels used in order to explain the core ideas and beliefs of a generation, which ultimately shape the world in which the following generation will live. But what really determines a generation leap? Are we witnessing the birth of a new generation marked by the effects of Covid-19? Generational analysis was pioneered by the German sociologist Karl Manheim (1893-1947) and subsequent generational studies have focused on how to better understand trends in consumerism, political participation and preferences in the workplace that contribute to making each generation unique. Although generation labels can only partially explain what makes generations different from each other, they hold value in that they help us understand the place we occupy in a changing world. And so, in the context of design in a digital age, the ideation workshop could be a venue for demonstrating the importance of generations in the use of conceptual tools, and sketching in particular. Or, what Generation(s) S(ketch)?

Workshop in progress

Designing is a skill that designers are continuously building. Even when a solution has been found or a task feel accomplished, designers are always working to become even better. We might say that our development as designers is always in progress. That is to say, something that is not yet complete. And so with ideation. A non-linear, iterative and onging process that is practised in the ideation workshop. A practice that makes use of ideation tools, from words and drawing to modelling and computing. But a practice that is not prescriptive or formatted but informal and illuminating. Indeed practice makes progress.

Learning from the workshop

Digital tools, that is electronic hardware (digital devices) and software (programs, apps or platforms), are part of the ideation tool box , tools which complement analogue, or traditional tools in the design process. That is to say, ideators use digital tools for implementing text, images, audio, and video for creating presentations that convey visual concepts and ideas. Digital tools, then, as instruments both for idea generation and idea communicatiom reflect a kind of digital pragmatism where the digital is not in opposition to the analogue. In so doing, visualisation, from assemblage, bricolage and collage to drawing and video, may inspire words, and words, in turn may inspire visualisation. This picture-word dialogue, then, helps generate ideas expressed in, say, the picture book format combining visual and verbal narratives. Moreover, hybrid ideation tools applied both in the studio environment and on digital platforms can transform the ideation process by connecting ideators to a wide range of content and resources thereby improving the ideation process as both an individual and collaborative learning experience.