Week 2A

1
Week 2A

• Thinking like a Designer

Computer Graphics for Television
2
Design process

• Problem identification
• Finding a graphic representation of news story
• Research and analysis
• Seeking sources and ideas
• Ideation
• Generating conceptual solutions
• Evaluation
• Trendy, obvious, ideal

3
Design process

• Implementation
• Refinement, development, testing
• Retrospective evaluation
• Feedback on the solution
• What can make it better?
• What can make it more efficient?
• What can make it more effective?

4
Idea development

• Mind mapping
• Create a node for your central concept
• Surround this node with as many first
  associations as you can
• Add further associations by visually connecting
  them to whatever existing node inspired you
• Go back and identify useful or intriguing entries

5
Mind mapping
Snake
Plowing
Farming
Adam Eve
Macintosh
Tests
Apple
Teaching
Computing
Student
Tree
Fruit
Pesticides
Eating
Poison
6
Mind mapping
Crawling
Woods
Trees
Possible Marketing Solution Intermingle VW Bug
in woods with other animals - natural to drive,
etc.
Rock Roll
Beetle
VW Bug
Driving
Driver
Small
Highway
7
The creative whack pack

• Creativity tool
• Ideas that whack you on the side of your head
  to jolt you out of habitual thought patterns.

8
Whack pack

• Expect the unexpected
• Sometimes what we are looking for leads us to
  something much different.
• What are two unexpected things that might happen
  youre your current idea?
• Use a random idea
• Open your mind up to things that have nothing to
  do with the idea you are developing
• What random idea can you use to stimulate your
  thinking?

9
Whack pack

• Look to nature
• The hooked spine of the common burr inspired the
  man who invented Velcro.
• What patterns and cycles in nature can you use to
  develop your idea?
• Get out of the box
• Often the best ideas come from cutting across
  disciplinary boundaries and looking into other
  fields
• Look for history in a hardware store, fashion in
  an airport, etc.
• In what outside areas can you look for ideas?

10
Whack pack

• Reverse your viewpoint
• Reversing how you look at a situation can
  dislodge assumptions and open up new
  possibilities.
• How would be the viewpoint from someone of the
  opposite sex?
• How can you reverse the way you look at your idea?

11
Whack pack

• Imagine you are the idea
• Imagine you are a box of cereal
• How can you be more attractive?
• What can you do to get the grocer to give you
  more shelf space?
• How would you feel if you were the idea you are
  developing?

12
Whack pack

• Change its name
• Different words bring in different assumptions
  that lead your thinking in new directions
• What other words could you use to describe the
  topic for the news graphics you are designing?
• Break the rules
• Most advances come when rules are challenged and
  a different approach was made
• What rules can you break?

13
Whack pack

• Imagine how others would do it
• Imagine someone you respect is responsible for
  developing your concept. What would they do? How
  would they approach it?
• What innovative changes would they make?
• Make a comparison
• What do a cat and a refrigerator have in common?
• They both have a place to put fish!
• What can you compare your idea to?

14
Visual semiotics

• The science of signs
• Three basic types of signs
• Iconic picture of the sign
• Fire
• Indexic a thing that signifies another thing
• Trail of smoke
• Symbolic symbolic representation of a thing
• Holy spirit, boy scouts

15
Developing creativity

• Freedom from pride
• Pride restrains us from asking questions
• Pride hampers curiosity
• Social reprisal does not really matter
• Belief in ones ability to succeed
• If you believe in your own creative potential,
  you will begin to become more creative
• Its not an ego-trip nor is it denying our
  abilities

16
Developing creativity

• Constructive discontent
• Discontent is a prerequisite to problem solving
• Identify the problem and seek constructive
  solutions
• Finding problems without constructive attitude is
  only whining

17
Developing creativity

• Wholeness
• Allowing feeling to enter into the conscience
  world of our knowing
• Feeling with knowing, sensing with deciding
• May be more difficult for those raised to
  suppress feelings particularly men

18
Developing creativity

• Escape from habit
• Dont allow ourselves to get locked into
  preconceived notions of life
• Allows us to see things in different ways
• Creativity is a LEARNABLE state of behavior
  patterns
• Block from creativity
• Fear, logic, what else?

19
Roles of a creative thinker

• Explorer
• Look for materials to build your idea
• Get off the beaten path
• Artist
• Experiment with a variety of approaches
• Follow intuition
• Look at things differently
• Ask what if?
• Break the rules

20
Roles of a creative thinker

• Judge
• Is the idea any good?
• Is the idea worth pursuing?
• Look for drawbacks, advantages of your idea
• Warrior
• Implementation of your idea
• Take your idea into action
• Overcome excuses, setbacks, and obstacles

21
Thinking like a Designer
Computer Graphics for Television