Jot it down

Across creative fields, and irrespective of the expressive medium, the challenge is the same: How to capture ideas? Eric Satie, the French composer, for example, was observed stopping to jot down ideas by the light of the street lamps he passed.

On-the-road ideator

Designers traditionally ideate with pen in hand using sketchbooks, notebooks, whiteboards, even drawing on napkins. That said, the processing, storage, editing, and communication benefits of computers ensure that designers also work on screen at the conceptual stages of the design process. Moreover, the hardware and software of digital drawing have evolved enough to be useful for on-the-road ideators. For example, smartphones controlled by multi-touch display now allow spontaneous on-screen sketching turning smartphones into ideation tools for out-and-about designers.

Communicate and share ideas

You can have all the ideas in the world in your head but to make them happen you need to visualise or write the ideas down and communicate them to others. Because having the idea is just the first step to making that idea happen, and ideas are seldom accomplished alone. Sharing your ideas liberally not only gives you feedback but can help you realise the idea.

Making it happen

Ideation, unlike "brainstorming" (which is jumping from one idea to another while developing none), is more than coming up with ideas. It is as much about fine-tuning and communicating the idea in preparation for action to realise the idea.

Ideas for apples

If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas. GEORGE BERNARD SHAW (1856-1950)

Ideation language

Introducing the ideation workshop to design students in Singapore, the outcomes confirmed the importance of language when ideating. The dominant conceptual tool for getting started across 3-dimensional design disciplines (interior/furniture/exhibition/jewellery design) was words (written and spoken, including mind-mapping) which in turn triggered sketching (pen & paper), physical sketch modelling (using card, plastics, wire etc), and computing (multimedia/CAD), as single ideation tool or in combinations.

Ever ready tools

Tool-up for big ideas! A sharp mind needs sharp and ready tools. And to capture constructive daydreaming needs ever ready tools too.