Week 8

Creative Thinking

Nothing shocks us anymore....


If we were to be living twenty years ago and a touch screen computer came out that was the size of a notepad and had endless applications we would be gobsmacked. Yet over those twenty or so years technology and design has advanced so quickly that nowadays we strive for the newest and most efficient (technology and design) product. Almost anything is possible in our minds and because we are a consumerist driven society we crave the next best thing.


Some research has shown that design and technology advances have been in response to human needs, as 'Daniel Kelly' described in his talk, we are climbing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, 

http://dinamehta.com/blog/2010/01/12/twitter-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-nay-hierarchy-of-tweets/

our society has satisfied the basic Physiological needs and now we have moved into the Safety needs reaching the top, the comfort zone. The design today is all about the desire of humans and their need to have everything come easy and technology is making these designs readily available to the public. Kelly evaluates that we are not necessarily designing a product but a better way of doing things, design in the modern age is human centred, our behaviours and personalities are being taken into account.

Daniel Kelly's YoutTube Video

We now have a broader definition of Design.

      Things such as 'The shopping experience not just the look of the branded environment.' As seen in the Prada New York store, it has interactive elements, all new design was created from observations. From observing how people behave and asking what they need.

      Having live interaction and dialogue from the consumer, for example - read out at a museum of consumers responses to displays.

       Designers have also rethought the working environment becuase people need to feel happy to be productive, if the space someone works in feels uncomfortable or the time spent is straining, a revamp of the space and a possible interactive break where people feel more comfortable and less stressed will improve productivity and the health of each individual.

     They have also celebrated the dwindling resource like water and evaluated the public about the recycling process in an attractive installation. 

      Developing systems to assist Kenyans to become entreprenuers.

All of these examples are just a few of many that assist the individual, based on their behaviour and personality, the design industry is now very much Human Centred Design.

Changes in technology innovation from 1945 to now have risen exponentially.

Making our view of the future difficult, CEO's are learning that they cannot do without design and designers. As they are becoming increasingly involved in and aware of the contraints of business.

http://trendsupdates.com/pendant-shaped-gps-navigation-system-with-sixth-sense-technology-will-aid-in-finding-ones-way-in-airport-scenarios/

Another example of human centred design is shown in the TED.com video of Pranav Mistry and Pattie Maes have designed what they call 'Sixth Sense'.  An innovative design that practically makes everything in reality possibly technologically interactive. It is very unique and in my belief would become very popular amongst modern society although i also believe it is unnecessary. Converging two very different things (technology and reality) is getting to close to losing what is life and living. It may make life easy and make better use of our time but i don't believe it is a healthy step in the technological advance. 

Thinking about change

transforming insights and data

the convergence of design skills and business

The business world is becoming less analytical and more intuitive, the divergent approach is being eliminated and the convergent is being embraced. The age of complexity confronts the era of specialisation. To achieve productivity CEOs realised they needed to have creative spaces and work environments, a creative domain for success, it produces an innovative discipline and mental space.

Design thinking attributes:

• collaborative
• Inclusive
• holistic
• creative
• insightful
• provocative
• iterative
• non-linear
• fast
• innovative
• customer-centered
• outcome-oriented

Abstract and concrete thinking, you have to know to make, hence to design something for people you should experience and interact to have full understanding of the purpose for the product, an empathic research.  (Analysis -> synthesis -> immersion -> action) Design thinking visualises complex information in a way that inspires new ideas and thoughts.

These days analytical and intuitive thinking overlap and this is where the best design thinking comes from. 

In this process we have to think about what is tangible and what is intangible? 

Have to :

• visualise to collaborate
• build to think
• prototype to learn

Design immersed and human centred, what makes people happy and how do they react emotionally to the product. Design thinking of this age creates change, innovation can be found at the intersection of an evolving need and a technology. We still have to consider the end result, should we, could we. Is it desirable and viable?