Da Vinci - The Ideator

As the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death is commemorated this year, the artist’s notebooks are experiencing a renaissance of their own.  Although his paintings are far better known, Leonardo’s wealth of manuscripts and drawings lay bare the inner workings of his genius. His fertile mind—the range of hypotheses he tested, the intellectual, scientific, and philosophical journeys he launched, Leonardo’s subject matter soars into view: botany, geology, hydraulics, architecture, military engineering, costume design, geometry, cartography, optics, anatomy. He sketched to make sense of unknowns, probing the enigmas of the universe with ink, chalk, and silverpoint. Indeed, Leonardo was an ideator of the first order, and his notebooks reveal how much we still have to learn. Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/05/leonardo-da-vinci-artistic-brilliance-endures-500-years-after-death/

Pencil that!

Initially, design is all about the idea. And so, while the first thought or idea is still fresh, grab the pencil, jot the idea down, scribble, sketch it out! Sketching is the first step to materialise abstract thoughts. It's faster and easier to capture the idea with pen and paper because there is very little barrier between hand, eye and brain. True, you can skech using a tablet, and it may be a personal choice, but the immediacy (no interface) and tactile quality of pen and paper makes it still a favourite ideation medium among designers across disciplines.

Ideation guidelines

The ways designers go about ideation vary according to task, tools used, and experience. Yet in an attempt to describe ideation as a process one might apply the four steps, or the Double Diamond method based on the UK Design Council's simple way of mapping the design process*. The four steps - Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver, when transferred to the ideation process may suggest the following guidelines: 1. Discovery stage, when a project space is created for generating and researching ideas (ideally a versatile studio space); 2. Definition stage, when the task or problem at hand is identfied and parameters set; 3. Development stage, when the range and number of generated ideas are reduced through filtering and refining resulting in, say three strong ideas; 4. Delivering stage, when the idea(s) are communicated effectively. Source: https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/design-methods-step-2-define

Slow Ideation

Idea generation is often thought of as a speedy activity or a pop-up phenomenon, as in the proverbial "Aha!" moment, or in sayings such as "in a flash" or "out of the blue". But ideation can also be akin to a  meditative thought process of "reflecting", "mulling over" or "ruminating". Or a process of "iteration", "fits and starts" or "incubation". Yet irrespective of fast or slow ideation modes, what matters most is to capture the first thought(s) in some shape or form that enables the idea to be developed and communicated effectively to the intended audience, be they team mates, clients or the public at large. And whether ideas travel in the fast lane or the slow lane, the ideation tools employed are not mutually exclusive, that is, pen and paper, for example, moves along with computing. In other words, analog and digital creative means co-habit the same ideation space.

AI as innovative partner

Artificial Intelligence, AI, as a branch of computing, can also be seen as an ideation tool for helping designers become more proficient in generating ideas for innovation. That is, using AI as a tool to help innovate rather than invent, to improve what already exists rather than creating from scratch. This is because while AI attempts at mirroring some of the qualities of the human mind, it is not capable of replacing the creative mind. Yet there are many iterative even mundane steps in the ideation process of generating, developing and communicating ideas. These steps, then, and to use an analogy - Thomas Edison, the inventor, claimed that 'Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 per cent perspiration', might be seen as "perspiration". AI, however, may be a source of inspiration too - not only by extending the range of ideas generated but also testing and prototyping ideas using, say 3D printing thereby making AI a meaningful and valuable innovative partner.

Drawing equality

The Architecture Drawing Prize 2018 showcased the importance of drawing as a tool for generating, capturing and communicating ideas. The prize, launched in 2017, embraces the creative use of digital tools and digitally-produced renderings, while recognising the enduring importance of hand drawing. The competition has three three categories of drawing; Hand-drawn, Digital, Hybrid, and each category provides clear evidence that drawing is not only alive and well, but that there is equal value in the craft of each of the categories, as the tools available to achieve a means to an end. For a review: https://www.makearchitects.com/thinking/the-architecture-drawing-prize-review/ Similarly, Eye Line, the RIBA annual drawing competition, which started in 2013, highlights the skill and talent involved in 2-D representation of a building design or concept through visual means, and without drawing distinction between ‘hand drawing’ and computer rendering skills – not only because both are of equal value but because so many architectural de­pictions layer several techniques to produce the final image, making such distinctions meaningless https://www.ribaj.com/eyeline/eyeline-winners-2018

Generative ideation

One of the advantages of generating ideas with the help of computing is speed, that is, in the time it takes for a designer to create one idea, a digital computer can generate thousands (from the fact that where complexity and scale are of concern, human ideation requires exponentially more effort and time than computers, which excel at iteration without fatigue). But not only in terms of speed, and quantity is the computer a suitable ideation tool. Generative design software, such as Autodesk, helps designers create complex shapes and form, some of which would be impossible to make with traditional manufacturing techniques and procedures. Instead, they're built using additive manufacturing (defined as the process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data). Moreover, when designers input goals and constraints into the software, along with parameters (variables) such as materials and manufacturing methods, the software is able to produce a wide range of potential design solutions for the designer to choose from and, by altering the parameters experiment and explore further. Using generative design software for ideation purposes (generative ideation), in conjunction with additive fabrication, can save substantial design, modelling, prototyping, and, ultimately manufacturing time, while avoiding costly errors and enhancing product quality.