Monday, February 14, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Laborer, Craftsman, Artist
“If you work with your hands, you’re a laborer.
If you work with your hands and your mind, you’re a craftsman.
If you work with your hands and your mind and your heart, you’re an artist.”
—Saint Francis of Assisi
If you work with your hands and your mind, you’re a craftsman.
If you work with your hands and your mind and your heart, you’re an artist.”
—Saint Francis of Assisi
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
A Design (Creative) Thinker’s Personality Profile
Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t need weird shoes or a black turtleneck to be a de- sign thinker. Nor are design thinkers neces- sarily created only by design schools, even though most professionals have had some kind of design training. My experience is that many people outside professional design have a natural aptitude for design thinking, which the right development and experi- ences can unlock. Here, as a starting point, are some of the characteristics to look for in design thinkers:
Empathy. They can imagine the world from multiple perspectives—those of col- leagues, clients, end users, and customers (current and prospective). By taking a “peo- ple first” approach, design thinkers can imag-
ine solutions that are inherently desirable and meet explicit or latent needs. Great de- sign thinkers observe the world in minute de- tail. They notice things that others do not and use their insights to inspire innovation.
Integrative thinking. They not only rely on analytical processes (those that produce either/ or choices) but also exhibit the ability to see all of the salient—and sometimes contradictory— aspects of a confounding problem and create novel solutions that go beyond and dramatically improve on existing alternatives. (See Roger Martin’s The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking.)
Optimism. They assume that no matter how challenging the constraints of a given problem, at least one potential solution is better than the existing alternatives. Experimentalism. Significant innovations don’t come from incremental tweaks. Design
thinkers pose questions and explore con- straints in creative ways that proceed in en- tirely new directions.
Collaboration. The increasing complexity of products, services, and experiences has re- placed the myth of the lone creative genius with the reality of the enthusiastic interdisci- plinary collaborator. The best design thinkers don’t simply work alongside other disciplines; many of them have significant experience in more than one. At IDEO we employ people who are engineers and marketers, anthropolo- gists and industrial designers, architects and psychologists.
-Tim Brown (CEO IDEO)
Empathy. They can imagine the world from multiple perspectives—those of col- leagues, clients, end users, and customers (current and prospective). By taking a “peo- ple first” approach, design thinkers can imag-
ine solutions that are inherently desirable and meet explicit or latent needs. Great de- sign thinkers observe the world in minute de- tail. They notice things that others do not and use their insights to inspire innovation.
Integrative thinking. They not only rely on analytical processes (those that produce either/ or choices) but also exhibit the ability to see all of the salient—and sometimes contradictory— aspects of a confounding problem and create novel solutions that go beyond and dramatically improve on existing alternatives. (See Roger Martin’s The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking.)
Optimism. They assume that no matter how challenging the constraints of a given problem, at least one potential solution is better than the existing alternatives. Experimentalism. Significant innovations don’t come from incremental tweaks. Design
thinkers pose questions and explore con- straints in creative ways that proceed in en- tirely new directions.
Collaboration. The increasing complexity of products, services, and experiences has re- placed the myth of the lone creative genius with the reality of the enthusiastic interdisci- plinary collaborator. The best design thinkers don’t simply work alongside other disciplines; many of them have significant experience in more than one. At IDEO we employ people who are engineers and marketers, anthropolo- gists and industrial designers, architects and psychologists.
-Tim Brown (CEO IDEO)
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Google Art Project
An amazing way to view some of the worlds most Treasured Masterpieces.
http://www.googleartproject.com
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Creative Flow
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi identifies the following nine characteristics of creative flow:
1. There are clear goals every step of the way. Knowing what you are trying to achieve gives your actions a sense of purpose and meaning.
2. There is immediate feedback to your actions. Not only do you know what you are trying to achieve, you are also clear about how well you are doing it. This makes it easier to adjust for optimum performance. It also means that by definition flow only occurs when you are performing well.
3. There is a balance between challenges and skills. If the challenge is too difficult we get frustrated; if it is too easy, we get bored. Flow occurs when we reach an optimum balance between our abilities and the task in hand, keeping us alert, focused and effective.
4. Action and awareness are merged. We have all had experiences of being in one place physically, but with our minds elsewhere often out of boredom or frustration. In flow, we are completely focused on what we are doing in the moment.
5. Distractions are excluded from consciousness. When we are not distracted by worries or conflicting priorities, we are free to become fully absorbed in the task.
6. There is no worry of failure. A single-minded focus of attention means that we are not simultaneously judging our performance or worrying about things going wrong.
7. Self-consciousness disappears. When we are fully absorbed in the activity itself, we are not concerned with our self-image, or how we look to others. While flow lasts, we can even identify with something outside or larger than our sense of self such as the painting or writing we are engaged in, or the team we are playing in.
8. The sense of time becomes distorted. Several hours can fly by in what feels like a few minutes, or a few moments can seem to last for ages.
9. The activity becomes ‘autotelic’ – meaning it is an end in itself. Whenever most of the elements of flow are occurring, the activity becomes enjoyable and rewarding for its own sake. This is why so many artists and creators report that their greatest satisfaction comes through their work. As Noel Coward put it, Work is more fun than fun.
1. There are clear goals every step of the way. Knowing what you are trying to achieve gives your actions a sense of purpose and meaning.
2. There is immediate feedback to your actions. Not only do you know what you are trying to achieve, you are also clear about how well you are doing it. This makes it easier to adjust for optimum performance. It also means that by definition flow only occurs when you are performing well.
3. There is a balance between challenges and skills. If the challenge is too difficult we get frustrated; if it is too easy, we get bored. Flow occurs when we reach an optimum balance between our abilities and the task in hand, keeping us alert, focused and effective.
4. Action and awareness are merged. We have all had experiences of being in one place physically, but with our minds elsewhere often out of boredom or frustration. In flow, we are completely focused on what we are doing in the moment.
5. Distractions are excluded from consciousness. When we are not distracted by worries or conflicting priorities, we are free to become fully absorbed in the task.
6. There is no worry of failure. A single-minded focus of attention means that we are not simultaneously judging our performance or worrying about things going wrong.
7. Self-consciousness disappears. When we are fully absorbed in the activity itself, we are not concerned with our self-image, or how we look to others. While flow lasts, we can even identify with something outside or larger than our sense of self such as the painting or writing we are engaged in, or the team we are playing in.
8. The sense of time becomes distorted. Several hours can fly by in what feels like a few minutes, or a few moments can seem to last for ages.
9. The activity becomes ‘autotelic’ – meaning it is an end in itself. Whenever most of the elements of flow are occurring, the activity becomes enjoyable and rewarding for its own sake. This is why so many artists and creators report that their greatest satisfaction comes through their work. As Noel Coward put it, Work is more fun than fun.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Worldbuilding and New Ways to Imagine
Play is the forgotten art of human creation, a process that acknowledges the creative chaos inherent in developing the logic of storytelling worlds.
The digital tools of our time form a unique creative laboratory: a toy box of ideas. How do we use these digital tools to create narrative play-spaces in which audience and creator can be immersed in collaborative experience, be it virtual or real, passive or interactive?
-5D
The digital tools of our time form a unique creative laboratory: a toy box of ideas. How do we use these digital tools to create narrative play-spaces in which audience and creator can be immersed in collaborative experience, be it virtual or real, passive or interactive?
-5D
Friday, January 14, 2011
T-Shaped Creativity
T-Shaped Creativity is a way of looking at a type of creative process situated at the intersection of Interactive Marketing+Experience Design. This visualization looks simplistic—but in fact is difficult to pull off. It entails getting the likes of Storytellers, Brand Strategists, and Experience Designers to coordinate activities. Take away just one "building block" of the "T"—and the Interactive Experience is incomplete.Read More @ Marketing Profs
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Ask Better Questions
Dunning-Kruger effect: people who don't know much tend not to recognize their ignorance and so fail to seek better information.
Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers. So said French philosopher -Voltaire
Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers. So said French philosopher -Voltaire
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