Written by Veera Kansikas and Henna Gaubusseau
For idea visualisation, many people prefer pen and paper and other physical objects like post-its. A computer might feel like a restriction: how can you quickly sketch something with a mouse? Or draw arrows to connect thoughts? Physically drawing and writing removes all the restrictions created by usability or skill limitations of computer programs. Then again, if you do need the “food for thought”, isn’t the internet full of images to get inspired by? There are several collage makers (for example Adobe Spark) where you can collect and combine images easily, which might be really helpful if you’re trying to get emotionally connected with your potential users or if you’re trying to come up with a colour scheme or a certain mood for a visual design.
References:
Ahtinen, A. and Chowdhury, A. 2018. Psychology of Pervasive Computing lecture slides. Tampere University of Technology.
Creativity. Psychology Today (Accessed 11.10.2018, available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/creativity)
Adobe Spark https://spark.adobe.com/make/photo-collage-maker/ reMarkable https://remarkable.com/
Image 1: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rinux/ (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Image 2: https://www.flickr.com/photos/splat/ (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Image 3: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gphayter/ (CC BY 2.0)
“Design a product that solves a problem for your selected target group. Be creative and let your wildest ideas out. Time starts now!”
Uh, help? What ideas? Time-out, please?
According to Psychology Today, most of us don’t see ourselves as creative persons. Ideation might feel difficult, and you could feel that you get stuck in the ordinary solutions and ideas when trying to come up with something new. Taking an example of a concept design process, you usually start with an empty paper or a whiteboard and try to come up with something that’s useful for somebody. And for most of us, a blank paper is terrifying.
As stated in the lecture by Ahtinen, all of us are actually creative. However, creativity often requires some “food for thought”: something to get your brain working. Visual stimuli can often lead you to think outside your box and get you in the right mood. Even without external stimuli it’s useful to somehow visualise your ideas to clarify them for you or others.
For idea visualisation, many people prefer pen and paper and other physical objects like post-its. A computer might feel like a restriction: how can you quickly sketch something with a mouse? Or draw arrows to connect thoughts? Physically drawing and writing removes all the restrictions created by usability or skill limitations of computer programs. Then again, if you do need the “food for thought”, isn’t the internet full of images to get inspired by? There are several collage makers (for example Adobe Spark) where you can collect and combine images easily, which might be really helpful if you’re trying to get emotionally connected with your potential users or if you’re trying to come up with a colour scheme or a certain mood for a visual design.
In our opinion, the best method for idea visualisation depends on the goal and the problem at hand. If you know you’re designing a web page, it could be easier to draw your ideas with the same program that you will eventually design the final product with. On the other hand, if you’re designing a tangible product, it might feel much more helpful to draw by hand or even build your ideas as one-minute paper prototypes. An interesting midway solution could be something that allows you to combine traditional sketching and the ease of computers, like smart boards or, for example, the reMarkable tablet, which mimics the feeling of pen and paper but allows you to save your sketches for later use.
Design ideas for web
pages and handlike lamps have very different forms and therefore prefer
different platforms.
Design ideas for web pages and handlike lamps have very different forms and therefore prefer different platforms.
Creativity can be practised, and it might be also worth trying out some different methods to feed your imagination. Trying out a new tool might feel difficult the first time as some of the effort will surely go towards learning to use the tool, but at the same time the new tool might inspire you towards the great Heureka moment we’re all looking for. So, break your box and go for it!
References:
Ahtinen, A. and Chowdhury, A. 2018. Psychology of Pervasive Computing lecture slides. Tampere University of Technology.
Creativity. Psychology Today (Accessed 11.10.2018, available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/creativity)
Adobe Spark https://spark.adobe.com/make/photo-collage-maker/ reMarkable https://remarkable.com/
Image 1: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rinux/ (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Image 2: https://www.flickr.com/photos/splat/ (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Image 3: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gphayter/ (CC BY 2.0)
First of all, I really enjoyed reading your blog post. In line with the topic of your blog, I think your writing style is creative as well, which makes it engaging and fun to read. Additionally I also liked that you gave some practical examples of tools for enabling idea creativity. If a reader gets inspired by this blog, he/she immediately has some tools to work with! So, overall, great job! :)
ReplyDeleteI too hate the situations when you have to brainstorm ideas because I find it so difficult. Or at least at the start it is hard. When you get going and have a few ideas it is easier to make more. For me the pen and paper is the number one choice. I like to write and draw everything on paper. I don't know if it's always the most efficient way but for me it works. But like you said in the internet there are millions of inspring photos to help you get inspired and those I do use. It was nice that you mentioned some tools here too. Very useful!
ReplyDeleteAnu
Hi! I want to say that I completely agree with you: sometimes the better way on how to sketch your ideas depends on what ‘s your aim.
ReplyDeleteIn generally I prefer draw on a real sheet of paper. It hepls me to visualize better the problem. I feel also more free and comfortable to draw what I’m thinking rather than do it on a digital device. But sometimes, as you said, programs may help you in the visualization of your goal.
For example I had to design a questionnaire and I found that it was easier to do it on a digital program rather then sketch it before on the paper. I could just click on the options available and directly the program modifies the structure of questions and answers accordingly.
I want to add also this fact: my dad and my brother are musicians and they need sometimes to compose new tracks. That could be done, as in the past, with papers and a keyboard (or with any else instrumet) , but at the moment there are lot of good programs that help you in the writing. For example, if you are composing something for more voices, these programs help you very much: first of all they make you see voices one after one and in addition they play the overall tune. So you can understand better the general melody. I think that’s one of the case in which digital tools help creativity.
I see myself as a creative person. I can get ideas no matter what tool I use. In spite of that I do use computer applications in addition to pen and paper.
ReplyDeleteThe tool I will use depends on the situation and my feelings. If I plan new code, I may use dozens of small white papers. Or maybe I start using A4-sized squared papers. Sometimes I think in code, which means I just type the code. In that case the code is probably something easy to create. Usually when I code, I look for ready made open source code first, so that I don't have to reinvent the wheel. If you are making a commercial app, you need to think twice about open source code and which licenses are good options in your case.
Not everything regarding coding is about writing text. When you design the classes in object-oriented languages (C++, C#, Java, etc.), you probably draw rectangles representing classes and lines from one class to another representing connections between classes.
When we are talking about apps, before designing the classes or code, we need to design the business idea of the app, if we aim to make a commercial app. In that situation I probably start using LibreOffice and write down all ideas that come to my mind. Looking at competitor apps is important to see if your ideas are not so unique after all. Also, people want more and more features, so you can get ideas for more functionalities from other apps.
If I'm not coding and instead I'm designing a graphical user interface, I probably use pen and paper first, because it is still faster than using a computer. If I have to communicate my ideas to a colleague student, then I can use for example the "Pencil" app.
Nowadays I also use Unity and 3D models to communicate my ideas. There are free CC 4.0 models you can use in Unity. For example, in one course I showed how our system will look like in a shopping center. In this course's team work I communicated my concept using my own 3D model and free models.
The physical location of your body also matters. As we have learned on this course, taking a walk may give you new ideas. I have noticed this before I came to this course. That is why I often stop walking outdoors, because I have to write down my idea immediately using Gmail or ColorNote, or I might not remember the idea anymore. Another reason for me to write down my ideas is that they won't shut up. With that I mean that an idea can haunt my mind continuously until I write it down. I think it is my brain's way of saving good ideas, because when you have written it down, it is "safe".
Very well written and the text is easy to understand and read. Incorporates the topics of the lecture well and the pictures included give a good visual aid for further illustrate the topic.
ReplyDeleteThe psychologial aspects are well explored but could go more in to detail.
-Shayan
Very nice post ! You described the problems well and the answers you give are realistic. I particularly liked that it's clear that you know what you're taking about!
ReplyDeleteI love drawing. Due to that, I love sketching concepts, taking notes and think with my all time favorites pen and paper. The freedom you have with it feels unlimited. As you said, computers have others adventages, but I never think they could overpass pen and paper.
This was until I discovered graphic tablets. After a short time of adaptation, once you manage to master it, this becomes the perfect match between computer and paper.
I had never felt that creative before. You can sketch your ideas free hand, copy-paste pictures from internet etc... Really, this is life changing. Sadly, we too often think it's only for drawing... what a waste !
They have a lot of opportunities of use and it is a nice example of a device that can boost creativity.
(Even if pen on paper is still the best feeling in the world)
Jeanne Raynaud
As a perfectionist, I don't like design drafts that are _too_ rough. I don't even consider pen and paper, because I want to have all my stuff in the same place without having inconvenient papers to carry around. Whenever I start a design, I turn to a web-based tool called LucidChart. It is fast to develop with the tool, as it offers templates that you can use as a starting point, as well as drag & drop functionality so mindmaps and website wireframes are very quick to develop. It is also easier and faster to change your design draft with LucidChart than with pen and paper (and eraser).
ReplyDeleteGood blog post!
Very well written and the text is easy to understand and read. Incorporates the topics of the lecture well and the pictures included give a good visual aid for further illustrate the topic.
ReplyDeleteThe psychologial aspects are well explored but could go more in to detail, for instance has the normalization and perhaps overuse of technology changed the creativity of people or steared in to a certain direction? Art and creativity are about sef expression, and if the norm is to use computerized tools, this will steer the creativity process in a certain direction, and if a person is not technically minded and can not express themsleves in this manner, then ones motivation to express can be hindered.
Personally, I think that art and self expression have taken a backseat to realism with the ever present popularity of user inerfaces and computer generated imagery and it seems that the only professional venue for artists is realistic visual effects work and not so much abstract art.
-Shayan
Thanks for this post! I could talk about this for hours.
ReplyDeleteI once worked in a design office where having breaks was more important than working hard on deadlines. That was an amazing contrast on what I had used to. In my experience, this relaxed environment boosted creativity more than fast paced atmosphere and working under pressure. Creativity can’t be forced, as you described in the beginning. Your brain really needs breaks and time to create new amazing ideas.
I’ve noticed that designers tend to leave the actual work on the last minutes, so do I. It can be a time management issue, but I see also a reason for extending the work close to a deadline. In your post you talked about ”the ordinary solutions”, the most obvious ideas. It’s really hard to get over with those and reach the new, unseen ideas. You can of course boost your thinking with different stimuli and creative methods, but I see that after all it just takes time and ”silent work” inside your head to learn and process the subject you’re working with. Still, deadlines are important so that the processing doesn’t extend too long and you’re kind of forced to let the ideas out from your head.
What comes to pen and paper or digital tools, I consider using hands is the most effective way to boost creativity. My motto (which I adapted from a great Ted Talk) is that ”Everyone can draw!”. When designing a system, an interface or a chair, illustrating an idea is the most efficient way to start an ideation. Ideas are nothing if they’re just inside your head or words in the air. Ideas are able to evolve only if they are visible.
– Emmi Putkonen