Panel: Individual and/versus social creativity

The creative act is often thought of as an individual, even lonely, one: the inspiration in the bath, the artist isolated in the garret. The research student has to demonstrate that they found new knowledge and that it was “all their own work”. But how often are these individual acts a realistic model of the creative process? Even if inspiration does come in the bath, how many conversations had taken place before that moment? How much time has the “lonely” artist spent in cafes arguing with other artists about their work? If individual research is so important why do we advise a good student to join a successful research department

Impact of prototyping resource environments and timing of awareness of constraints on idea generation in product design

Research and development laboratories in universities and firms around the world try to maximize innovation with a limited set of resources. However, questions remain about the influence of resource constraints on idea generation in early-stage product design. Multiple embedded case studies were conducted with engineering students and faculty at two university campuses in Mexico. Students developed sketches for products that would satisfy an open-ended design problem in a constrained-resource setting, where the variables were the timing of when information about these constraints was revealed, and the regular prototyping environment of the student. The evidence suggests that the timing of awareness of constraints can have an impact on design outcomes, but that this effect varies depending on the designer's regular prototyping resource environment.MIT International Science and Technology InitiativeLegatum Center for Development & Entrepreneurship (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award CMMI-1130791

Cognitive Styles in the Creative Process : utilization of prior knowledge and experiences

Industrial DesignThis research aims at understanding the creative process of product designers in terms of exploration and utilization of prior knowledge. A protocol study was conducted with 24 master students who majored in industrial design. For the design experiment, two different design briefs were utilized to investigate the effect of constraints on the creative process. 24 verbal protocols were firstly segmented into think flows, and then encoded. The encoding results suggested the significant effect of constraints on the utilization of precedents. For further interpretation of verbal protocols, I devised a new way of representing the cognitive process – a cognitive map. A cognitive map visualized the entire cognitive activities of participants, and provided a comprehensive view of a cognitive process. The cognitive maps suggested three phases of the creative process - exploration, generation, and development. Each phase represented different cognitive activities which were related to the exploration of precedents and generation of ideas. The cognitive styles of each phase were defined, and integrated. As a result, four different cognitive styles were identified – Focused Probers, Treasure Hunters, Selectors, and Explorers. The differences among the styles were compared in terms of utilization of prior knowledge, and the results showed that non-significant differences among four cognitive styles. Finally, this paper concluded with a discussion about implications on design education and practice.ope

Impact of prototyping resource environments on idea generation in product design

Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-104).Some of the world's most challenging problems will require distributed innovation capacity in order to create high-quality and sustainable solutions. However, access to prototyping resources varies and design strategies that are optimal in one context may be suboptimal in another. As the engineering practice is becoming increasingly globalized and R&D laboratories in universities and firms around the world try to maximize innovation with a limited set of resources, there is a need for greater understanding of the impact of prototyping resource environments on product design in universities. This knowledge will allow for the creation of more efficient innovation systems and help to foster more adaptable engineers. In order to explore the relationship between available resources for prototyping and idea generation during the design process, multiple embedded case studies were conducted with engineering students and professors at two university campuses in Mexico. In a design experiment, students developed sketches for products that would satisfy an open-ended design problem in a constrained-resource setting, where the variables were the timing of when information about these constraints was revealed, and the regular prototyping environment of the student. The outcomes were evaluated by comparing metrics such as the quantity, novelty, appropriateness, technical feasibility and marketability of the concepts. The evidence suggests that the timing of constraints can have an impact on the design outcomes, but that this effect varies depending on the designer's regular prototyping environment. The implications of these findings for engineers, educators, and policymakers working in any setting are discussed.by Lisa A. Schlecht.S.M.S.M.in Technology and Polic

Lernende als Designer: Untersuchungen zum Alltagsdesign in der Lerntätigkeit

Lernende sind zunehmend herausgefordert ihren Lernprozess selbstständig zu steuern, zu organisieren und zu gestalten. Die vorliegende Arbeit geht von diesen Erwartungen aus und fragt nach den kreativen Prozessen in der Lerntätigkeit. Dazu wird eine kritische Prüfung von Lerntheorien hinsichtlich ihrer Berücksichtigung von Kreativität und Materialität unternommen. Durch Entwicklung eines Designbegriffs, der die scheinbar selbstverständlichen Techniken und Strategien im Lernalltag als Alltagsdesign erfasst, wird ein wenig berücksichtigtes Forschungsgebiet eröffnet, das in qualitativen Untersuchungen medienübergreifend analysiert wird. Die verschiedenen Aspekte des Alltags­designs in der Lerntätigkeit – die Einrichtung des Arbeitsplatzes, das Aufgabenmanagement, die Aufbewahrung und die Verarbeitung von Lernmaterial werden detailliert beschrieben und analysiert. Resultat ist eine gegenstandsbezogene Theorie des Alltags­designs in der Lerntätigkeit, die einen Beitrag zum Verständnis von Wissensarbeit als materiale Praxis liefert.This thesis is a contribution to current debates about technology enhanced learning – namely “web 2.0” and “e-learning 2.0” where learners are expected to be active creators of knowledge. The figure of the learner as creative designer is addressed in this work, which concentrates on learners’ individual activity. The focus on the individual contrasts with many current studies about learning which center on collaborative aspects in knowledge building. First a review of learning theories is undertaken to examine their contributions to questions of materiality and creativity in learning activities. Turning to design research, a notion of design as practice is developed, which here complements and enhances current learning theories. Adopting notions of “use” and “user” the everydayness of design is reconstructed, leading to a conceptualization which is suitable to everyday activities of learners. From this everyday design perspective, the research question is formulated: How is learning activity accomplished as design activity? This question is tackled through several ethnographically oriented studies that focus on the individual everyday practices of students in their natural working environments. The analysis of the ethnographic data is developed using a Grounded Theory approach. A descriptive story is developed that analyzes arrangements of workplaces and objects, storage and task management, and the production of personal learning material as design. From these concepts four core aspects of everyday design in learning activities are developed: The design of the environment, “becoming designed”, designing oneself, and designing the design process. A model of the everyday design process is proposed which reveals both its creative and persistent side. The notion of everyday design in learning activities is an important concept to understand learners’ difficulties in knowledge building and to advance the development of learning strategies