Creativity Techniques for Design

1
Creativity Techniquesfor Design

• Engineering Design with
• Computer Applications
• Fall Semester 2005
• Week 5 September 21, 2005

2
First Things

• DUE Team Assignment 4 on Functional Models
  (Submitted via Blackboard)
• Team Assignment 5 Creative partial solutions due
  Wednesday, 28-September-2005
• Design Report 1 Due Wednesday, 5-October-2005

3
Creativity

• MYTH
• Creative people are highly intelligent
• FACT
• No correlation between creativity and intelligence

4
Todays Topics

• Refer to Ch. 4, p. 48-55 in textbook
• Creativity
• Characteristics
• Techniques
• Intuitive Methods
• Directed Search Methods
• Generating Ideas
• Morphological Matrices

5
Creativity Characteristics (1)

• Creative designers ARE
• Able to visualize, generate and manipulate visual
  images in their head
• Knowledgeable of existing electromechanical
  devices
• Able to manipulate partial solutions (i.e., can
  break large problem into small parts that are
  easier to work with
• Willing to take intellectual risks

6
Creativity Characteristics (2)

• Creative designers ARE
• NON-conformists
• Constructive (YOU want to be this)
• Obstructive
• Multiple approaches to problem solving
• Creative designers NEED
• Work environments that allow risk taking
• PRACTICE developing creative skills

7
Creativity Characteristics (3)
Summary

• A creative designer
• is a person of average intelligence
• is a visualizer
• is a hard worker
• is a constructive nonconformist
• has knowledge about the domain
• has ability to dissect things in his/her head

8
Creativity Techniques (1)

• Intuitive Methods rely on knowledge contained
  within team
• Brainstorming
• Group should represent variety of disciplines
• Must shed intellectual inhibitions
• Record all ideas (use scribe)
• Evaluate feasibility only AFTER idea generation
  concludes

9
Creativity Techniques (2)

• Brainstorming is generating as many ideas for
  solving a problem as possible in a short period
  of time.
• Keys to successful brainstorming
• No criticism of ideas!
• Evaluation comes later
• Criticism quenches creative fire it shuts off
  the flow of ideas
• Welcome creative thinking
• Encourage wild ideas
• They expand the envelope of ideas, possibly
  leading to workable solutions we otherwise never
  would have reached

10
Creativity Techniques (3)

• Brainstorming is generating as many ideas for
  solving a problem as possible in a short period
  of time.
• Keys to successful brainstorming
• Aim for quantity of ideas
• Allow combining and extending ideas
• Encourage interaction among team members
• Run the rut on an idea

11
Creativity Techniques (4)

• Directed Search Methods Focuses search outside
  of team knowledge
• Patent search
• Rich source of information
• Time consuming
• Web search (Google, Yahoo )

Web links for patents http//www.uspto.gov http/
/www.delphion.com/
12
Creativity Techniques (6)

• Directed Search Methods (continued)
• Existing products
• Benchmark other products
• Explore solution principles of a wider range of
  products

13
Creativity Techniques (7)

• Directed Search Methods (continued)
• Literature
• Journals, texts, handbooks
• Design catalogs (e.g., Thomas Register,
  McMaster-Carr, Grainger) - all have web access
• Natural systems
• Experts - Interview designers with known
  experience

14
Additional Resources
Creativity Techniques (8)

• Directed Search Methods (continued)
• Innovation tools, resources and strategies
• http//www.innovationtools.com/
• Over 200 techniques for enhancing creativity
• http//www.mycoted.com/creativity/techniques/index
  .php

15
Vertical vs. Lateral Thinking
If we use vertical thinking exclusively, we might
never consider alternative ways to solve a
problem.
16
Generating Ideas

• Now that we understand the problem and generally
  how the device should function, we are ready to
  begin brainstorming and generating potential
  solutions.

17
Morphological Charts

• Morphological charts are used to generate
  possible design solutions
• A morphological chart is very simple it is a
  table of possible solutions

18
Morphological Charts

• Morphological charts are used to generate
  possible design solutions
• A morphological chart is a very useful and visual
  way of organizing and assessing the range of
  possible solution combinations for our problem

19
Morphological Charts (2)

• Parts of a morphological chart
• Sub-functions in the first column
• Possible solutions to each sub-function are shown
  in the rows to the right of each function

20
Recall Product Function

• The function of a product is what the product
  does without considering any particular solution
• We look at two levels of function
• Overall function of product
• Simpler sub-functions that contribute to the
  overall function
• Remember the mousetrap? Our sub-functions were

21
Do it!

• Make a morphological chart for the chain of four
  sub-functions that describe the function of a
  mousetrap.
• Sketch/describe at least 4 solutions to each
  sub-function.
• Dont limit your solutions to reasonable
  designs. Go crazy on a few of them!

22
Example Morph Chart for Mousetrap Design
23
Assignment Creativity

• Memo 5
• Use brainstorming techniques to create a
  morphological chart for your riverbed salvage
  device.
• Generate at least 5 potential solutions for each
  sub-function of your product.
• Sub-functions come from your functional models
  created for Memo 4.