Ideation

Discovery
The creation of idea is one of the most intriguing parts of the design process, but also the most frustrating. I freely admit, one of the chief reasons I came to an art school that lacks specificity—we have no concentrated major—was because I understood myself as a technically proficient, but not particularly creative artist.

I felt, and still do feel, that being around a variety of creative works helps stimulate growth in my mind and meliorates non-traditional art background.

Most projects I work on start not with a stroke of genius, but a constant plugging and refinement. This approach always reminds me of a Malcolm Gladwell article in which he compared Cézanne and Picasso. Fundamentally, Picasso was a person of pure vision and execution. It's not to say he did not experiment, but his madness was a clarity many of us aspire to have, whereas Cézanne came to fruition through his constant iterations.

People, myself included, are most inclined to go through the route of refinement, mainly because so few people have absolute, clear vision artistically or otherwise. However, this route often leads you to spend time, sitting, trying to squeeze out that next drop of creativity to pursue or polish.

As a personal approach, I think my method can best be described by a pendulum:


On the right, there is the more conservative, methodical approach. This is where I typically begin a project. I sketch, ask questions, try to set up parameters with which I can answer these questions, and attempt to logically approach my problem. I think this technique is more typical of someone without an artistic background. Projects are visualized as a problem, wherein there are solutions and methods to reach those solutions.

On the left, is the more liberal, wide-angle approach. As a 'right-of-the-pendulum' person, I admit it's difficult to envision what is in this territory of creative exploration, but I think it could best be described in two ways:

1. Experimental ideas I've not considered, as they seem to fall outside the scope of a method approach

2. The part a project that cannot be planned

Iteration itself is not an A to B process, as it might appear.


The above is taken from the MFA thesis project of Alex Egner , who says:

"My graphic design process allows for ongoing exploration and freedom of movement, but I always keep one eye focused ahead. So what appears to be a straight path from Point A to Point B actually includes many detours and stops along the way. A seemingly simple project has underlying complexity."

What Next
My intent for this coming week is to define Point B, explicitly, with the understanding my path to it won't be linear. With multiple meetings and events over the course of the year, I feel the pendulum will swing toward the left as the project necessitates.

My initial plan will falter and I'll be forced to improvise in ways that will both make my project more ambitious, and allow me to understand more deeply the way my creative process works.

How I Spent My Time
A new affection I discovered during my downtime became quite constructive for my thoughts. I spent a great deal of time looking at the recent MFA theses of different school's students (Yale School of Design, Cranbrook Academy of Art). I wanted to see how other designers began with questions and artist statements and how they unfolded.

Perhaps this time spent was more for the sake of comfort and confidence in my own project, but the MFA candidates of one university was particularly instructive, The School of Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University. It was a source of inspiration I highly recommend, especially Alex Egner, mentioned above, and Carissa Henriques.

This encompassed a large part of time this past week, but I managed to get to the Hatcher Library and check out Envisioning Information by Edward Tufte. I hope the text will be useful in formulating an idea of what this 'brand' should look like, though I'm not trying to get too tied to the visual aspect of this project yet.