Talk at First DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009

1. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 1
bad ideas:
for creativity and design
Alan Dix
Lancaster University
www.hcibook.com/alan/
www.alandix.com

2. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 2
background
• 1995 – teach research methods in computing
HELP!
• change title “research techniques”
• I could do it, but had to think about it
• professionals things
• academics know about them
… becoming an academic about academia

3. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 3
understanding and intervention
• many things like magic:
creativity, innovation, debugging
• understand how they work
=> can make aids/tools
• examine aids/tools
=> understand how they work

4. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 4
today
• some techniques for your own innovation
• (some) reasons why they work
• meta-design and understanding meta-design
(meta meta design ??!)

5. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 5
kinds of creativity
H-creativity vs. P-creativity (M. Boden)
• P-creativity – new for you
• H-creativity – new for the world
know your field: P-creativity => H-creativity

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creative steps – the ant
• lots of small steps
• incremental
• evolutionary
• convergent
• slow and safe

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creative steps – the flea
• great leaps
• unguided
• revolutionary
• divergent
• fast and often wrong

8. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 8
creativity is hard
avoiding crocophants

9. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 9
formula for creativity!
structure + diversity
⇒ innovation

10. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 10
puzzles and problems
puzzles (newspaper puzzle or university exam)
– single ‘right’ solution
– all and only the relevant information
– problem/puzzle statement fixed
problems (real world)
– many or no solutions
– incomplete and irrelevant information
– problem requirements negotiable, re-definable
different
heuristics
and
techniques
fun!
work

11. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 11
chicken and egg
• understanding (or re-defining) the problem is the
first step to finding a solution
– often ‘solution’ trivial
how to understand the problem?
• understanding the problem with ‘solutions’

12. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 12
making a place for creativity
intellectual and physical

13. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 13
design exercise (an example)
Collaborative or Social Networking Thing* for
babies and/or parents of babies …
… but … design a bad one / silly one
* at least some physical token or device, not purely
web/digital

14. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 14
prompts …
THE BAD
1 what is bad about this idea?
2 why is this a bad thing?
3 are there any other things that
share this feature but are not
bad?
4 if so what is the difference?
try different contexts
used car salesman – how would
you sell it to someone?
THE GOOD
1 what is good about this idea?
2 why is this a good thing?
3 anything that shares this feature
but is not good?
4 if so what is the difference?

15. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 15
make it a good idea
• What is good - keep it
• What is bad - change it
• Change context
• Learn from aspects

16. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 16
why bad ideas?

17. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 17
Good Ideas
why bad ideas?
training:
– low commitment => easier to critique
design:
– large jumps through the design space
?
?

18. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 18
Bad Ideas
why bad ideas?
training:
– low commitment => easier to critique
design:
– large jumps through the design space

19. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 19
why bad ideas?
training:
– low commitment => easier to critique
design:
– large jumps through the design space
– understanding of the design space
Bad Ideas
Meta-level
dimensions
criteria
properties

20. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 20
plus ...
• other divergent techniques:
– random metaphors, putting ideas together
• arbitrary constraints:
– time, materials, etc.
• externalisation
• personality prostheses

21. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 21
critical transitions
and generating examples

22. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 22
critical transitions and bad ideas
• good uses of bad feature: “what’s the difference”
• similar yet critical difference (good/bad)
• helps articulate (externalisation):
dimensions, facets, concepts, criteria
• general technique ...

23. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 23
critical transitions
• construct a boundary case …
– example A in category B not in category
– make ‘path of small changes from A to B
– where does it ‘cross’ the boundary
– good for ‘felt’ categories
in category not in category
A B
critical
transition

24. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 24
boundaries
• where the action is (wild west, sea shore)
• reductionist – define and delineate
• intuitive – life is fuzzy, categories meaningless
a different way
• define and delineate
– for what you learn not the result
• wholeheartedly seek but hold lightly the outcome

25. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 25
but how to find examples?
• generating examples – hard
• examples from experience easy ??? or is it ???
past now
old
concept
experience
need

26. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 26
but how to find examples?
• generating examples – hard
• examples from experience easy ??? or is it ???
past now
new
concept
experience
need
generate
examplesimilar surface
characteristics

27. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 27
but how to find examples?
• generating examples – hard
• examples from experience ... actually harder!
but .. generating examples ...
• take arbitrary concrete example
• morph to new concept
• constant concrete – abstract movement

28. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 28
externalisation

29. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 29
different kinds
• drawings and sketches
• models
• diagrams
• mathematical formulae
• spoken words (learn to listen to yourself)
• written words (on paper, or screen)
• computer programs
• acting

30. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 30
why externalise?
• informational
• passing on to others already formed ideas
• formational
• ideas become clearer by the process of externalisation
• transformational
• thinking using materials
• transcendental
• our thoughts and ideas become the object of thought

31. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 31
informational
passing on to others already formed ideas

32. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 32
formational
ideas become clearer by the process of externalisation

33. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 33
transformational
thinking using materials
e.g. measure length
on diagram
c.f. external/distributed cognition

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transcendental
our thoughts and ideas become the object of thought

35. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 35
multiple classifications

36. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 36
why multiple classifications?
• taxonomy:
–things
• circles
– red circles
– yellow circles
• squares
– red squares
– yellow squares
similarity clear
similarity obscured

37. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 37
multiple classification
–shapes
• circles
• squares
–colours
• red
• yellow
shape
colour
red yellow
circle
square
tell you in what ways things are
similar and in what whay they differ

38. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 38
using multi-classifications
• to spread literature search
X

39. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 39
using multi-classifications
• to spread literature search
• to identify gaps
somat
or other
thing-
amibob
somat
else
?

40. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 40
using multi-classifications
• to spread literature search
• to identify gaps
• to discover trends
thing-
amibob
somat
else
?
?

41. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 41
using multi-classifications
• to spread literature search
• to identify gaps
• to discover trends
• to uncover abstractions
somat
or other
thing-
amibob
somat
else
different
again
? ?

42. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 42
using multi-classifications
• to spread literature search
• to identify gaps
• to discover trends
• to uncover abstractions
• to synthesise solutions
somat
or other
thing-
amibob
somat
else
?

43. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 43
personality prostheses

44. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 44
a researcher is …

45. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 45
a researcher is …
• interested
• active
• confused
• geek
• optimist
• organised
• diligent
• insightful
• fluent
• creative

46. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 46
imagine …

47. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 47
selling cars …
• make pink cars
• make people like pink
thnx 2 flickr: zwierz, foxp2, texassadie, lightpainter

48. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 48
eShopping
• requirement: plan a week’s food in advance
• make people organised
thnx: http://www.carolyn.topmum.net/tutbury/church/church.htm
DAY TIME FOOD QTY
Mon 7:45 grapefruit 1/2 tin
Mon 7:45 tea cup
Mon 10:30 choc. bsct 3
Mon 10:30 coffee 2 cups

49. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 49
why do it to yourself!
research ...
• the goal/outcome is fixed (sort of)
• the process involves you
GOAL
papers
data
thesis
argument

50. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 50
who you are
• physical capabilities
– maybe go to the gym
• cognitive capabilities
– maybe take evening classes
• personality and cognitive style
– time management, tidiness, divergent, convergent thinking
– slow/hard to change if possible ... and do you want to?
– often treated as moral failure
– only ever apologise for what you do, never who you are

51. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 51
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakerome/2241606732/

52. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 52
tools to help you given who you are
(NOT to change who you are)
• physical prosthesis
– forklift
• cognitive prosthesis
– calculator
• personality prosthesis
N.B. Csíkszentmihályi – creative thinkers extreme at both ends of personality traits
– convergent thinker – bad idea helps divergence
– divergent thinker – prompts help convergence

53. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 53
don’t say:
if only I were like X
I could reach my (research) goals
do ask:
given the way I am
how do I do things

54. DESIRE – International Summer School "Theories of Creative Design” Sept. 2009 54
bad ideas prompts
externalisation
explicit
design space
critical
transitions
divergence convergence
examples
(multiple)
classifications
boundaries
personality
prosthesis
breaking
bounds
commitment