Conceptual Experiments Journal

From the article I have read, there are 6 phases in a creative process:

Inspiration is the 1st phase. To get an idea of what you want to create, you must something conjure up feelings that reflect on the subject matter. When you get a positive feeling that “this” is what you want to do, then that’s your inspiration. Also, most good ideas actually come from a huge pile of bad ideas.

Clarification is the 2nd phase. What exactly are you trying to achieve? Always remind yourself of this question because we tend to easily fray from our path. If you get stuck, you need to clarify where you want to go exactly, rather than wasting time sitting down & think. Having a clear sense of purpose is important for a designer!!!

Evaluation is the 3rd phase. Basically, this is when you check your idea for its strengths & weaknesses, & improve on it. Take out the weaknesses, & fortifying on the strengths. This step work the Perspiration phase.

Distillation is the 4th phase. This is a self-critical phase. It requires cool analysis and judgment on how the idea has progressed. Remember that ideas are only ideas & not complete solutions.

Incubation is the 5th phase. This happens when you take a break, relaxing or move to work on other projects. Although your mind is “somewhere else”, it is important to keep your idea at the tip of your mind, still thinking about it & aspects of it. Subconsciously, other ideas or solutions can pop up. This can further improve on it.

Perspiration is the 6th phase. This is the most important phase, where often pushes the developed idea back to the other stages for further improvement. It is a good habit to have multiple drafts of the idea to not only compare the old & new but to also check for faults. This phase is the toughest but most important to get the idea finalised.

These are the 6 phases that are necessary in a creative process.
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What defines a Hero???

Does a hero necessarily have to be brave? Must he or she have superpowers? Can a person who kills to save others be considered a hero? Are there heroes in reality, or are they just fictional depictions? Think about it...

HTI2 as a Game!!!

To me, HTI2 feels similar to a game of darts, with of course a slight twist. Similar to darts, there is a target board with different circles ranging from biggest to smallest, smallest having the most points.

I depicted the idea in a black & white theme, to simulate what HTI is teaching me. White representing logic, or what we already know & understand. Black representing the things that are still unknown to us, or things that goes beyong the realistic (Thinking outside the Box).

The darts represent us, people exposed to logic. The black background represents the world, or in my case the world of a designer. Do we really know everything about the world? No matter how smart, we can never know everything. The circle board represents the education taught to us (in this case, HTI2 module). We do not where we may land, sometimes it seems that we already know things yet it is repeated again & again in the lesson (Landing on the outer white ring). As lessons go on, we question our understanding or things we thought we were sure of (E.g. Is a pencil used only for drawing? Can it be used as utencil or weapon? Is it possible?).

Landing on the black rings is like realising new things, new ways of thinking (Thinking outside the box). When we land on a black ring, we learn new things, broadening our knowledge. Just like a a real game of darts, constant practice makes perfect. If we implement what we've learnt, & use it constantly, won't it make us smarter or better as a person/designer?(Becomes easy to hit the target we aim at/knowing where the dart will land.)

Hence, this is my depiction of what History & Theory of Ideas 2 module would be like if it were a game.

Idea of an Idea doodle...

What ideas can you get by looking at this???

The Idea of an Idea

What is an idea? Is it just something that pops up in the mind? Is it a concept, a form of imagination, or even a form of illustration? What exactly is the idea of an idea?

Ideas are so common that it has become more of a reflex, meaning that we are sometimes unaware that we are actually thinking of an idea. The process is very natural to us. Ideas can be as simple as using the round side of a spoon to help crack an egg, or as complicated as devising a plan to create permanent world peace. In my opinion, an idea is generated from anything that sparks interest, or during the moment we start to think.

So, is there a connection between ideas, knowledge & creativity? From my point of view, yes, there is a definite connection between the 3. I believe that there is a process by which all 3 factors play a part in when creating something. Knowledge comes first, idea second, & creativity third. To generate an idea, one must 1st possess some form of knowledge & understanding about the things around. With knowledge, ideas can be formed just by a single thought. With a basis of the idea, creativity plays its part by using knowledge to expand on the idea, making it unique & better. Hence, the connection between the 3 factors is in fact quite important.

How is an idea judged to be good or bad? My criteria of judging an idea is different from the ordinary. To me, all ideas are good ideas, there is no such thing as a bad idea. My may of judging is on whether the idea is practical or impractical for the task at hand. Some ideas may be rejected for present tasks, but may prove to be more of use for future tasks.

Hence, from my understanding, the idea of an idea is something that we think of that may or may not be practical, but gives us the chance to explore & expand on, to form something completely new or something shares traits similar to that of the original thought.