Learning by doing

The ideation workshop reflects the notion of learning-by-doing, or experiential learning, a pedagogical approach that highlights the general idea that hands-on experiences favour the development of the creative individual than those brought about by uniform second-hand knowledge. In other words, self-initiated and self-directed thinking and doing rather than activities where the individual is being told what to do. This approach, moreover, implies the using of eye-hand coordination, and the other senses where necessary, to govern tools within the context of generating and communicating ideas (ideation tools). Such an approach, which allows the individual to excercise choice and judgement is core to ideation. That is, the workshop allows trial and error, the application of individual imagination and experience and, crucially, feedback. In short, learning by doing.

Tools for ideation

Ideation may reflect a complex system of thinking and behaviour that is so unpredictable as to appear random. Yet everyday ideation also suggest that there is a risk of getting ovewhelmed or lost in the modishness of design, as, say, found in the plethora of print or online media. So this is where ideation tools may help create meaning out of what may at first appear a rather chaotic situation. Now, there are plenty of such tools around, from pen and and paper to screen based devices, such as mobile apps. The point is though you have to work for the ideation tools to work for you. That is to say, if you really want a tool to work for you with which to tackle a project, then you have to put it through some tests and tasks (the ideation workshop provides such opportunity). If it holds up to those, then you can keep it as your go-to ideation tool. Or tools rather, because there is intellectual pleasure as well as sensuous delight in having the skills, and therefore the creative prowess of a range of ideation tools.

When is an idea ready for presentation?

Often the set deadline for idea presentation, or the motivational power of time pressure ("up against a show deadline") determines not only the amount of time that can be devoted to idea generation but the outcome itself. But whether the generative phase lasts a few hours or several  days, the shape and form of the idea must be such that its content is carried with both bravura and conviction. So how do we know when the idea is ready to launch? First, ideation is not about perfectionism. If we want to share the ideas with the outside world, there comes a point at which we must be done with the ideation stage, at least for the time being. So how to let go of the idea? Because there is a risk with launching an idea that is half-baked as well as with an idea that has been overworked.This is where pre-presentation preparing kicks in. That is to say, to let people we trust have a look at the idea before its presentation because they may be better placed to see the idea in the nude, as it were, rather than clothed in the ideator's vision yet to be denuded. Or, a kind of reality check. Ultimately, however, the clue to knowing when an idea is ready to be launched may have less to do with the idea itself than to know that, in the context of creativity, trying is everything.

Face-to-face versus virtual ideation

The Covid pandemic meant that many creatives were obliged to work virtually or online, away from offices and colleagues. And while some design businesses found that online working was more cost-effective than working face-to-face, or provided an opportunity to link up more resources geographically allowing for more flow and application of new ideas,.the return in 2022 of the annual events of London Crafts Week, and Clarkenwell Design Week, witnessed how creatives had much missed the face-to-face and collaborative aspects of design. In fact, reseach has shown (see source, below), and whether in practice or education, that designers typically find face-to-face teams more successful than virtual teams when working on a new product or service. This is so because generating new and practical design ideas is the process of interpersonal, face-to-face discussion that leads to discovery and innovation and is a part of a complex social and cultural system. Indeed, ideation is knowledge and new knowledge is best created when existing knowledge is shared amongst team members. Source: https://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/masters-learning-and-organizational-change/knowledge-lens/stories/2014/are-face-to-face-teams-more-creative-than-virtual-teams.html

Ideation ways

A multisensory approach to ideation, using a range of tools, materials and methods, as facilitated by the workshop, enhances the transformative experience of the creative process. Driven by curiosity, designers get a buzz out of  tactile, hands-on ways of ideation that embrace traditional artisanal practices while acknowledging digital technologies resulting in new insights and actions. But, also, transformative experiences, and broadening understanding, within the ideation framework, may be achieved through allowing the mind to simply wander, with or without tools and materials immediately at hand. Key, though, to ideation ways, is that the idea is made visible, or concrete, through imagery, artefacts or words - not that dissimilar to how craft work is actualised, as shown both in production (outcome) and process (communication).

The Hedgehog and the Fox

Take an actual design problem, find its obvious solution and eliminate it. Now think of an alternative solution. Repeat, and set in motion a chain reaction of ideas. Remember, though, sometimes being creative requires just a small alteration of what’s been done before. Also, the better you understand the problem you want to solve, and the more experience you have in you're field of new ideas, better solutions are likely to emerge. Indeed, carrying erroneous assumptions, or misunderstanding the problem itself, may limit or hinder your ability to ideate and therefore find a solution to the problem. So, ideators, and to evoke the fable of the hedgehog and the fox, should transform themselves to foxes rather than hedgehogs. That is, in Isaiah Berlin's version of the fable, foxes, who draw on a wide variety of experiences and for whom the world cannot be boiled down to a single idea, in contrast to hedgehogs, who view the world through the lens of a single defining idea. Or, in Richard Serras' reading of the fable: The hedgehog, being resistant to change, is intellectually dead; the fox's adaptability is the correct strategy for intellectual development and survival.

Innovation equation

In the beginning was the idea. Which was followed by another idea. And so on and so forth. But which idea, out of many, is worth taking further, towards realisation? Elon Musk, the US entrepreneur and investor, in discussing the pursuit of innovation, reveals what matters in his decision-making process, which he breaks down to three questions: Time; how how long will it take you to build? People; have you access to the right network or team? Materials; have you access to the materials necessary to make your innovation a reality? In short, Musk's innovation equation: time plus people plus materials equals the ability to innovate. But whereas design ideation does not evaluate the idea per se, or predicting what chances of success (ideas are proposals, not final outcomes), Musk's approach to innovation may nonetheless be helpful to ideators in that it highlights input factors to be considered for innovation - and particularly in the pursuit of a startup. After all, it won't matter much if you have a brilliant idea but lack resources to realise the idea. Source: https://www.inc.com/kelly-main/elon-musk-reveals-his-innovation-equation-its-an-easy-way-to-gauge-if-a-business-idea-is-viable.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-en-GB