Section 2 in Graphic
Design Thinking: Beyond Brainstorming talks about various ways to get ideas.
As Author, Ellen Lupton, describes, a random doodle, or a brain dump, can eventually
turn into a concrete idea. After you come up with some ideas, you then have to continue
brainstorming to form connections in order to trigger more ideas.
I really like the sets of pictures on pages 66-67. When I
used to do celebrity collages for my old website, I would blend a bunch of
pictures together from a single photo shoot, and then add additional image
boxes to highlight certain parts of that person (eyes, lips, parts of outfit,
etc). Now that process has been automated with the free app Picstitch. What you
can do is combine images together in various
layouts. Below is a picstitch I actually made on my way home from class
when the Teacher’s strike was happening.
I also enjoyed the “Visual Puns” section on page 73. I haven’t
really seen anything like that before. Vectors are always fun, so it was neat
to see images combined to form a meaning. The iPhone Shark is my favorite.
This chapter shows us that if we reach into our subconscious,
and use our creativity, associations, and inspirations to come up with some
unique ideas. You can focus on the words, images, objects and everything else
that is associated with your initial idea. Then you can come up with a number
of variations and see if those spark more ideas, or if you are satisfied with
one of those. A visual diary or even a presentation can help you see what ideas
work. You can even co-design with other people who are related to your idea
(working with children, teachers, and parents for ideas about a children’s
product). In the end, those are the people who are going to be purchasing your
product. You have to tend to the needs of your consumers, and make sure not to
overlook the details. I thin you never know what works until you have hundreds
of ideas that don’t.
I completely agree with your last sentence: you may have to try a bunch of ideas in order to find the one way that works. This section of Lupton's book definitely encourages designers to pump out as much as they can through the visual brain dumping technique, which makes sense because it causes the creative juices to flow.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading the "Visual Puns" section of the book too, which was one of my favorite sections that I read so far. I have seen some different designs using visual puns over the years. However, I really liked the examples that Ellen Lupton gave in the book. It makes me want to try using visual puns in my own designs.
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