Time and space for reflection

Ideation involves generating, developing and communicating ideas. This process requires a combination of inspiration, discipline, and problem-solving skills.While ideation takes place in many places, it calls for time and space for reflection often provided by the studio. The studio culture, however, has come under pressure in the digital age which tends to favour immediate gain or short-term result over long-term merit or reward.Yet to counter the digital tendency to short-termism, many creatives, and throughout history have been known to practice stoicism, a philosophy that emphasizes reason and self-control. Stoicism, then, may enhance creativity by encouraging a positive mindset for dealing with unique challenges, criticism and rejection that are inherent in the creative process. By accepting what they can control and what they cannot, creatives may find stoicism helpful to stay focused on the task at hand and maintain a sense of perspective and avoid becoming overwhelmed by obstacles.

Ideaflation

AIdeation, or ideation facilitated by generative AI, is adding to the risk of idea overload, that is, having too many ideas and being overwhelmed with choice.Yes, ideators, with the help of GenAI can run the risk of being overstimulated for their own good. But there are ways to handle ideaflation too. 1. Jot down your ideas in real time (words, images, sound). 2. Record your ideas, and store them in a folder so you can retrieve them as and when. 3. Revisit your ideas and update as necessary. 4. Share your ideas with others - don't hoard ideas for the sake of it. And so, beat ideaflation by managing the flow or stream of ideas creatively. In this endeavour, a creative mindset plays an important role not only for producing something new but also for driving and delivering the ideation process. But remember, a good idea is nothing but an idea. Or, to paraphrase Shakespeare; What's in an idea? That which we call an idea by any other name would be as good.

Ideation toolbox

The evolution of computing platforms, online networking and cloud-based CAD have accelerated the digital design process and the result is that new generations of designers across industries are getting less familiar with traditional studio skills such as freehand drawing or hands-on physical modelling. In fact, virtually no product today is created without the use of CAD software—through design, simulation and manufacturing. But digital default settings also impact face-to-face interpersonal skills and designers commonly find themselves physically isolated with their own screens. Yet what are designers' tool needs in order to achieve, or retain harmonious passion for ideation? CAD, for example, has been seen as a technology that takes away from the creative design process as designers might immediately jump onto CAD tools after coming up with an idea, an idea that, moreover might have been generated by AI chatbots. Everyday casual studio observation, however, suggests that increased screen time doesn't necessarily reject analogue tools such as the sketchbook or the whiteboard. But whatever toolbox, analogue or digital, designing involves tools options for designers to choose from, at least in the early stages of the design process.

AI isn't the enemy of creativity

Generative artificial intelligence technologies are making rapid advancement in creating, or at least facilitating new content such as audio, text, images, and video. Does this suggest that AI driven design education would reduce the role of face-to-face teaching or make facilitators redundant? In support of  in-person teaching, such as workshops is that AI is not yet capable of providing the kind of personalised and nuanced interactions that human facilitators are able to provide, including emotional intelligence. That is, AI can be a valuable tool to supplement or enhance but not replace traditional facilitation methods. And so research at Harvard university, for example, suggests that generative AI tools can augment the creativity of designers (and employees and clients) and help them generate and identify novel ideas as well as improving the quality of raw ideas. In short, generative AI’s greatest potential is not replacing humans; it is to assist humans in their efforts to create hitherto unimaginable solutions. In the debate about AI/human interaction, moreover, the game of chess is illuminating because chess computers with sufficient processing strength will always be able to beat any human, calculating the most efficient move. Yet the world of chess didn't crumble because of AI because the game is a passion, a source of intellectual combat, an art form or a way to test and improve each player's mental and creative abilities. And so is design - and a reminder that chess and design both have a rich history and cultural significance. https://hbr.org/2023/07/how-generative-ai-can-augment-human-creativity.

Ideation and the blank piece of paper

The metaphorical concept of beginning with a "blank piece of paper" or a "clean slate" typically heralds a fresh start or starting afresh without reference to previous circumstance or condition. But designers faced with a blank piece of paper may experience creative blockage. Yet there's plenty of advice to overcome a creative block, from practice, practice, and more practice to brainstorming to using search engines, such as Google or AI text generator such as ChatGPT. Why, then, one could argue, bother with a blank piece of paper when there's lots of online stuff and ideas to get started with? The questioning of this approach is that ideators would follow someone else's initiative rather than finding their own way onto something new or innovative. Moreover, in education, the risk that ChatGPT might compromise learning, notably critical thinking in design. Yet what is a fresh start or a new idea anyway? Could it be that the notion of beginning with a blank piece of paper is misunderstood because, from a biological and developmental perspective, humans don't start as blank slates. That is, humans are seen as born with genetic predispositions and are influenced by the environment and upbringing from the moment they are born. Accordingly, these genetic and environmental factors, including the use of technology such as AI systems, contribute to our individual growth and personality and influence our ideas.

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.

Brainstorming

Idea generation is often associated with so called brainstorming where a group of people interact to suggest ideas spontaneously in response to a prompt. The ideation workshop, however, isn't a group brainstorming session. The reason is that the experience with the workshop, and its outcomes, show that collective brainstorming techniques may be inclined towards group think. Also, and although brainstorming may boost the feel-good factor in the group, scientific research suggests that collective brainstorming doesn't produces more or better ideas than the same number of individuals would produce working independently. So, the workshop studio format is such that the participants brainstorm individually, possibly in pairs, and then later come together as a group and discuss each person's ideas, which in turn may yield more ideas. Working individually, however, will only be better once everyone has a clear understanding of the task or problem set for the workshop. Therefore, the participants first come together to get a common understanding of the task or problem at hand and then split off to think about solutions followed by group presentation and the sharing of ideas.