Howard - hb&c sig keynote

Human Behaviour and Design Creativity SIG keynote

Creativity, discipline specific?Thomas J. [email protected]

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“Original material presented by Thomas J. Howard, The Technical University of Denmark”

mailto:[email protected]

2012Original material by Thomas J. Howard, The Technical University of Denmark, Human Behaviour and Design Creativity SIG Keynote, Design 2012, Dubrovnik

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MeThomas J. Howard (Tom)Associate ProfessorEngineering Design and Product DevelopmentDepartment of Mechanical Engineering

Main expertise:• The procurement of design information for use as creative stimuli

Other areas of research interest:• Robust Design• Integrated product development

Currently working on proposals for NeuroDesign (Research into Design Cognition by means of Neuro-Imaging)


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How much change can the concept of Creativity entail and still be meaningful?

“The Elephant Test”Lord Justice Stuart-Smith

“It’s difficult to describe, but you know it when you see it”


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Try to identify good or well executed design that you don’t want to label as

“creative”

We have to know what is routine before we know what is creative.


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Key

Analysis (A) – Information regarding the problem or task

Generation (G) – A proposition of a solution (an IDEA) to the problem or task

Evaluation (E) – Critique of a generative proposition

The generation phase is the essence of creativity


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Design types (Pahl & Beitz 1984)Original Adaptive Variant

A new solution principle for an established market

A known solution principle applied to a new market

Variations or improvements in form of a know technology platform

(New Behaviour) (New Function) (New Structure)

Howard, T. J., Culley, S. J. and Dekoninck, E. (2008). "Describing the creative design process by the integration of engineering design and cognitive psychology literature." Design Studies 29(2): 160-180.


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The creative design process model

Howard, T. J., Culley, S. J. and Dekoninck, E. (2008). "Describing the creative design process by the integration of engineering design and cognitive psychology literature." Design Studies 29(2): 160-180.

Gero, J. S. (2004). "The situated function–behaviour–structure framework." Design studies 25(4): 373-391

EG

E

G

G

G

G

A

Original

Adaptive

VariantG

G

G

G

G


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Is creativity discipline dependant or a general competency?

“There are cognitive mechanisms for general creativity...

However, they may only be enabled when in conjunction with domain specific knowledge and cognitive

mechanisms”


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What are we suggesting?

Who is likely to be the better football player?


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A general discipline?

Sculpture

Technical

Music

Painting

Written Work Engineering Design

MechatronicsIndustrial Design

Artistic

ProgrammingWeb Design Problem Solving

MathsArchitecture

Descriptive Analogies Solution Analogies

Geometrical Manipulations

Mathematical functions/rules

Intuitive physicsArtistic

signatureDepiction of

emotions

Mind’s eye

Aesthetic rules

Associations

Comedy


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Routine Idea Generation

Association (IDEA)

Working Memory

Long Term Memory

Task Information

Surrounding Information

Apparently Relevant Information Chunk

Unapparently Relevant Information Chunk

Irrelevant Information Chunk

INTERNAL

EXTERNAL

Howard, T. J., Culley, S. J. and Dekoninck, E. (2006). “Information as an input into the creative process" DESIGN’06


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Creative Idea Generation ‘I’ Type

Association (IDEA)

Working Memory

Long Term Memory

Task Information





INTERNAL

EXTERNAL



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Creative Idea Generation ‘E’ Type

Association (IDEA)

Working Memory

Long Term Memory

Task Information





INTERNAL

EXTERNAL



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“Creative idea generation relies greatly on domain specific knowledge

and the ability to realise the relevance of information”


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A general discipline?

Sculpture

Technical

Music

Painting

Written Work Engineering Design

MechatronicsIndustrial Design

Artistic

ProgrammingWeb Design Problem Solving

MathsArchitecture

Descriptive Analogies Solution Analogies

Geometrical Manipulations

Mathematical functions/rules

Intuitive physicsArtistic

signatureDepiction of

emotions

Mind’s eye

Aesthetic rules

Associations

Comedy


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Types of Analogy

Task

Goal State

Descriptor Descriptor

Task

Goal State

Descriptive Analogy Solution Analogy


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Descriptive Analogy

The most famous metaphor – the computer ‘Desktop’.

Task

A function to enable temporary file storage and quick and easy access to current files on a personal computer.

Goal State

A space (size restricted) at the base of icons or pull-up folders. Readily accessible space containing temporary and regularly uses files.

Descriptor

‘Desktop’ analogy describing the similarity of function of a physical desktop and the temporary electronic space.

Howard et al. Design2006


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Solution Analogy

Marc Brunel invented the principle of the tunnelling shield.Goal State

The Tunnelling Shield. Bricks were laid whist digging the tunnel. A series of planks moved and replaced incrementally 18” at a time.

Task

Problem of constructing a tunnel. Difficulty in holding back soil from filling in a hole once dug giving no time for the concrete to set the bricks in place.

Descriptor

A ship worm (Teredo Navalis) known to bore through wood, reinforcing its hole with a hard excretion.

Howard et al. Design2006


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“The difference disciplines may have a different approach to forming

analogies”


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Design Creativity Strategies

Scamperwww.mindtools.com

• Substitute• Combine• Adapt• Magnify or Modify• Put to Other Uses• Eliminate• Rearrange or Reverse

Design HeuristicsYilmaz et al. 2010

• Substitute• Merge

• Rescale

• Configure• Repeat• Nest


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Skills of design engineers

Divergent thinking

Qualitative reasoning

Visual thinking

Problem Formulation

Convergent thinking

Ideation Fluency Deductive reasoning

Perceptual speed Requirement discovery

Evaluation

Ideation Versatility

Inductive reasoning

Visual memory Detecting missing info.

Selection

Ideation Originality

Analogical reasoning

Visual synthesis Identify key issues

Feasibility

Abstraction Ability

Abductive reasoning

Mental image manipulation

Identify real over fictional constraints

Combining ideas

Fixation Avoidance

Intuitive Physics Spatial reasoning Relate needs to technical requirements

Trade off

Complexity Handling

Graphical Moving to higher systems level

Goal directedness

Compiled from a series of paper on design skills test by Shah


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Can we teach discipline specific creativity?

Yes, as we have been:– Sketching– Spatial reasoning– Prototyping– Knowledge of engineering fundamentals– Teaching of physical phenomena


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“Can we teach generic creativity?”


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Can we teach generic creativity?

Perhaps:– Association forming– Forced analogies– Quantity/fluency over quality


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Have a good discussion...