Media Design 7Johannes Freund

CreativeStrategies

6 Thinking Hats

IDEO

Provocative OperationIdea Island

Synectics

Value EngineeringClicking Catalog

Wrong

Osborn Checklist

De Bono

Media DirectionWT 2010/2011Coach: Daniel Gilgen

Table of Content

Introduction! 3

1. The Egg Challenge! 5

2. Six Thinking Hats! 7

3. Provocative Operation! 9

4. Idea Island! 11

5. Synectics! 13

6. Value Engineering! 15

7. Osborn Checklist! 17

8. Method Cards (IDEO) ! 19

9. Clicking Catalogue! 21

10. Wrong! 23

11. Communication Idea! 25

Conclusion! 26

Appendix! 27

2

Introduction

Within the framework of this semester‘s media design course, held by Daniel Gilgen, we dealt with a wide variety of creative techniques and strategies. This document describes the applied techniques and the cases we worked on. Additionally, outcomes of the sessions are shown and discussed briefly. Each of the session-descriptions end with a con-clusion about pros and cons and how well the technique would fit in real-life processes.

3

Example: Brainstorming via mind mapping

Principle Description

Focus on quantity This rule is a means of enhancing divergent production, aiming to facili-tate problem solving through the maxim quantity breeds quality. The assumption is that the greater the number of ideas generated, the

greater the chance of producing a radical and effective solution.

Withhold criticism In brainstorming, criticism of ideas generated should be put 'on hold'. Instead, participants should focus on extending or adding to ideas, reserving criticism for a later 'critical stage' of the process. By sus-

pending judgment, participants will feel free to generate unusual ideas

Welcome unusual ideas

To get a good and long list of ideas, unusual ideas are welcomed. They can be generated by looking from new perspectives and suspending assumptions. These new ways of thinking may provide better solu-

tions.

Combine and im-prove ideas

Good ideas may be combined to form a single better good idea, as suggested by the slogan "1+1=3". It is believed to stimulate the build-ing of ideas by a process of association.

Table 1: Basic principles of brainstormingSource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainstorming

4

1. The Egg Challenge

In the first session of this semester‘s course we dealt with the general term of creativity, talked about basic brainstorming techniques like mind mapping and finally got to know “the egg challenge“.

Brainstorming

Developed by Alex F. Osborn, the brainstorming technique is dedicated to the creation of many ideas in a group. It is widely adopted by teams in all different kinds of work environments and branches. Important for a suc-cessful brainstorming is the definition of a clear briefing beforehand. The process consists of two different steps: First, the group develops as many

ideas as possible, respecting the rules described in table 1. The second step is to evaluate, rate and group ideas in order to filter the outcome.

The Egg Challenge

To get hands-on experience with general brainstorming, we got the brief-ing to modify an egg with a given number of drinking straws in a way that it withstands a drop from one meter height. The focus of the session was on group dynamics and the personal role one finds inside of the group.

Conclusion

The session was a good introduction to the topic of creative techniques and strategies. Especially “the egg challenge“ was a fun way to get closer to the topic. It also became obvious that it is quite challenging to respect the given rules of a technique throughout a whole session.

5

Name Description

White hatFacts & Information

Participants make statements of fact, including identifying information that is absent and presenting the views of peo-ple who are not present in a factual manner.

Red hatFeelings & Emotions

Participants state their feelings, exercising their gut in-stincts. In many cases this is a method for harvesting ideas - it is not a question of recording statements, but rather

getting everyone to identify their top two or three choices from a list of ideas or items identified under another hat.

Black hatBeing Cautious

Participants identify barriers, hazards, risks and other nega-tive connotations. This is critical thinking, looking for prob-lems and mismatches. This hat is usually natural for people

to use, the issues with it are that people will tend to use it when it is not requested and when it is not appropriate, thus stopping the flow of others.

Yellow hatBeing Positive and Optimistic

Participants identify benefits associated with an idea or issue. This is the opposite of black hat thinking and looks for the reasons in favor of something. This is still a matter of

judgment - it is an analytical process, not just blind opti-mism.

Green hatNew Ideas

This is the hat of thinking new thoughts. It is based around the idea of provocation and thinking for the sake of identify-ing new possibilities. Things are said for the sake of seeing

what they might mean, rather than to form a judgement. Because green hat thinking covers the full spectrum of creativity, it can take many forms.

Blue hatThe Big Picture

This is the hat under which all participants discuss the thinking process. The facilitator will generally wear it throughout and each member of the team will put it on from

time to time to think about directing their work together.

Table 2: Roles of “Six Thinking Hats“Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Thinking_Hats

6

2. Six Thinking Hats

Warm-Up

In order to get started with our creative thinking process, a creative warm-up was conducted. The task "What are you able to do with six red bricks?" encouraged everyone to think about creative solutions within a very limited frame. The results covered a wide range of different areas, lots of them were funny and unexpected.

Overview – Six Thinking Hats

Next, we were introduced to a new creative strategies: The “Six Thinking Hats“. Originally developed by the expert in creative and lateral thinking Edvard de Bono and used by companies like Disney, it is a powerful tech-nique based on role-play. The basic idea behind this technique is de-scribed by de Bono as follows: In traditional discussions, people often defend their personal opinions and points of views, the ego gets in the way of a possible solution. Therefore constructive energy is hindered. By separating personal attitudes and output, members are more likely to come up with ideas outside the box.

Task

By the use of the six thinking hats technique we developed the idea of an organic lung that functions as a center for information about the topic of

CO₂ emission and at the same time indicates the current emissions of the inhabitants of the city it is placed in. As the lung is placed in a central point – like the marketplace – of the city, people get confronted with the topic from time to time. An important aspect of our idea was to not blame people for misbehavior, but encourage the positive. Additionally, the sense of community was important to counteract the typical behavior of blaming others.

Conclusion

The technique of the six thinking hats is very powerful and leads to great results, but it requires quite a bit of practice to stick to the roles and main-tain the technique‘s rules. In addition, the group-members should know each other beforehand and be comfortable with each other.

7

Provocative Operation

Question

Reverse

Exaggerate

Combine

Wish

Table 3: List of provocative operations

8

3. Provocative Operation

Edvard de Bono

At the beginning of this session we dealt with the topic of Edvard de Bono. In a video we got an introduction to the main topics de Bono worked on, which are lateral thinking and provocative operation. We dis-cussed the two paths to get to either a vertical or a creative solution. Ver-tical thinking is based on logical thinking. An example for a vertical solu-tion to a problem would be:

Problem Solution

Wine bottles contain to much for most of the people

Make smaller bottles

A creative solution would seek for completely new ways of packaging for wine or a different chemical state.

• Fill the wine into ballon

• Frozen wine-cubes

• Wine-powder that can be mixed with water

Provocative Operation

In order to get to new ideas you have to leave the path of logical thinking. Ideas originated in a lateral thinking process have to be evaluated for their value later on. A great support to leave logical thinking are provocative operations (see table 3).

Task

The task we were working on was “How to bring more students into the Mensa?“. We came up with a concept similar to a theme park, with lots of games and attractions the visitors can enjoy.

Conclusion

Using provocative operations can lead to a variety of quite crazy ideas. The difficulty is to connect the outcome to the initial problem in a feasible and useful way.

9

10

Overview: Visual Map

Detailed View: Visual Map

4. Idea Island

Idea Island

The idea island is a visual brainstorming technique, perfectly fitting in the incubation phase of a project where you want to get closer to possible solutions. In group-work, ideas are sketched on paper, forming an island. By visualizing the ideas the creative process develops more freely and in-tuitive. In the end the island also works great as an overview of what was achieved.

Task

The briefing of this session was chosen by the group and therefore part of the task. We developed the idea of a cheap, mass-production chair for public space that adjusts to the user. The chair would be ideal for schools, universities, waiting rooms and public transport. One focus of our idea was on health. The chair should assist people to sit in a healthy position, avoiding future health issues and therefore healthcare costs.

Conclusion

The technique of drawing an idea island worked out very well to enhance our initial thoughts. By the use of sketching new aspects were developed more freely and without the preselection that often happens using other techniques. One aspect that we became aware of quite late in the proc-ess was that we were focussing too much on visualizing the mood or character of our idea instead of concrete product features. Additionally, the group was busy drawing the ideas already there, instead of creating new ones.

11

Steps

1. Analyze and define the problem

2. Spontaneous solutions

3. Restatement of the problem

4. Development of direct analogies (e.g. nature)

5. Personal analogies (identification)

6. Symbolic analogies (contradictions)

7. Direct analogies

8. Analysis of direct analogies

9. Transfer to the problem

10. Development of possible solutions

Table 4: Process of synectics

12

5. Synectics

Synectics

The idea behind the strategy of synectics is to build up analogies for a given problem in order to connect things that are not obviously in relation. It was being developed in the 1960s by William J. J. Gordin. The process can be described in ten steps described in table 4.

Visual Synectics

The technique is about combining different things visually that are not connected to each other in the first place.

In a first step a topic is described by words and phrases. Then, a list of mental images that refer to the topic is noted or they are drawn. Further on, words opposite to the generated material are being collected. Finally, the outcome is lead back to the initial idea in order to enhance it or de-velop it in a new direction.

Task

“A creative pre-financing method for a TV show“ was being chosen as our briefing for this session. The basis for the TV show was a short film, by Steffen Gruber, called “Hannes der Hausmeister“ (Carl the caretaker). The main role in the film is a singer of lightweight pop songs about women and alcohol. We developed a wide range of possibilities, including a full set of merchandising, performances of the main character in clubs and bars and product placement.

Conclusion

We, as a group, had many difficulties sticking to the rules and steps nec-essary for the technique. The hardest part is to continuously get away from the problem. This level of abstraction is counter-intuitive as most of the members tried to solve the problem directly via a classic brainstorm-ing. The usage of mental images in the process of visual synectics is an additional way to generate new ideas, but makes it hard to connect the outcome to the briefing. Nevertheless, synectics are a powerful possibil-ity, once you let yourself in on the necessary process.

13

Steps

1. Preparation

2. Information

3. Analysis

4. Creation

5. Evaluation

6. Development

7. Presentation

8. Follow-up

Table 5: Steps of Value Engineering

14

6. Value Engineering

Value Engineering

Value Engineering is a technique that was developed at General Electric during World War II. It was being developed out of the problem that there were not enough supplies to build products conventionally and therefor new possibilities had to be found. It is a systematic approach and is based on the examination of functions. The basic premise was “What something does, not what something is“.

So Value Engineering often results in misuse of tools and objects that are initially thought to do other jobs. A screwdriver for example could be mis-used to steer paint instead.

Key Questions

Besides the stepwise process showed in table 5, Value Engineering evolves around a set of key questions:

• What is being done?

• Who is doing it?

• What could it do?

• What else will do the job?

• What are the alternate ways of meeting requirements?

• How will the alternatives be measured?

15

Other uses? New ways to use as is? Other uses if modified?

Adapt? Is there anything else like this? What does this tell you? Is the past comparable?

Modify? Give it a new angle? Alter the color, sound, odor, meaning, motion, and shape?

Magnify? Can anything be added, time, frequency, height, length, strength? Can it be duplicated, multiplied or exaggerated?

Minify? Can anything be taken away? Made smaller? Lowered? Shortened? Lightened? Omitted? Broken up?

Substitute? Different ingredients used? Other material? Other processes? Other place? Other approach? Other tone of voice? Someone else?

Rearrange? Swap components? Alter the pattern, sequence or layout? Change the pace or schedule? Transpose cause and effect?

Reverse? Opposites? Backwards? Reverse roles? Change shoes? Turn tables? Turn other cheek? Transpose ‘+/-‘?

Combine? Combine units, purposes, appeals or ideas? A blend, alloy, or an en-semble?

Table 6: The Osborn Checklist Compare: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborn-Checkliste (08.02.2011)

Brainstorming: Chocolate

16

7. Osborn Checklist

Introduction

At the beginning of this session we made ourselves familiar with the company IDEO and several projects they were working on. IDEO is a creative driven company that offers creativity-tools, but also designs new products and services. One major characteristic are the often surprising ideas that are being developed.

Osborn Checklist

The checklist consists of a series of simple questions. These questions are used to assist both divergence and creativity in thinking in respect to a problem. This technique can be used either individually, but ideally in a group in the process of idea generation. Each question in the checklist should be used in singularity to the problem. This will assure that in-depth thinking is explored in a precise direction. Each question tries to enlighten a new path of thinking.1

Task

By the use of the Osborn Checklist we developed new ideas all about chocolate. We discovered all different kinds of possible areas of use, ranging from cosmetics, to drugs, games and jewelry. The ideas were col-lected on a mind map and later on rated to identify the best.

Conclusion

The checklist is a great mental push to further the creation of ideas. It is possible to generate a large amount of new thoughts in a short period of time without thinking too much about constraints. As always an evalua-tion of the results has to be made to lead back to feasibility.

17

1 Compare: http://www.brainstorming.com/osborns-checklist/ (12.02.2011)

18

8. Method Cards (IDEO)

Method Cards

The IDEO Method Cards are a collection of different creative techniques, written on small cards, containing practical real-life examples. The exam-ples are mostly from the area of advertising, but can easily be transferred to all different kinds of creative briefings.

Task

The briefing we worked on during this session was a project from a fellow student about an interactive audible board game. We worked on the de-velopment of a communication strategy that focusses on the game‘s strengths and reduces potential concerns. One of the outcomes was an idea for an ad where a room is shown and Mozart, as a child, plays with the interactive game instead of the piano that is also present. This idea should transport that the game encourages creativity and independent thinking.

Conclusion

In regard to this session‘s specific briefing, the Method Cards we were using did not help very much. One reason for that was the difficulty of transfer from the given examples, which were often quite genius, to the problem we worked on. Abstracting the very specific examples and ap-plying the basic concepts behind it was the key problem. Nevertheless, the cards are great and are perfectly applicable to other problems and usage in other groups.

19

Categories

Without Words

Combine and Connect

Compare

Repeat and numerate

Exaggeration

Turn around 180 Degrees

Omission and Indication

Paradox and Optical Trick

Provocation and Shock

Effect of Time

Change of Perspective

Persiflage and Parody

Symbol and Sign

Invitation for Play

Story around a Product

Absurd, Surreal and Bizarre

Wordily

Change Product

Alternative Usage

Ambiguous

Play on Words

Citations or Sayings

Reframing

Metaphor and Analogy

Beyond the Frame

Alternative Advertising Forms

Table 7: Categories of the Clicking Dialogue (Source: http://danielgilgen.com)

20

9. Clicking Catalogue

Technique

The technique of the Clicking Catalogue was being developed by Mario Pricken. The development of the catalogue is based on his analysis of successful advertising campaigns. By the use of the catalog fundamental questions behind these campaigns are being selected.

Conclusion

In order to successfully make use of this technique, you already have to have an idea that you are going to enhance. Therefore basic brainstorm-ing techniques are best applied beforehand. Once applied to a rough idea, the catalogue can lead you to a great amount of results in all differ-ent kinds of directions of thought. By varying the initial question even a greater range of possible solutions is possible.

21

Creative Method: »wrong« by Daniel Gilgen, 2011

Intro: This method lowers the mental barrier of saying something wrong when suggesting new creative ideas to solve a problem or brie!ng. Especially if the participants are not familiar with the creative tech-nique, or if they don’t know each other well, a warm up session is suggested.

1. Start with the introduction to your creative brie!ng and explain your problem or task.

2. Warm-up phase (starter)Take about 20 minutes to produce as many unusual »wrong« pictures as possible. Therefore select ob-jects such as a hammer, a golf ball, a tin can, pieces of wood, cloth, etc... or any kind of cleaning brushes. It works best if you use a dark monochrome liquid paint. Put all pictures on the "oor so that they can be easily be reviewed.

Since we are used to abstract pictures, there can´t be really a wrong one. However trying to do so (think outside the box) lowers your compunctions and gives the participants the feeling of being part of a powerful and productive team. (The large quantity of pictures illustrates the working principle of many creative methods: produce a large amount of ideas to select the best ones afterwards.)

3. Everybody selects a picture which she or he likes best. Within the group one should describe the emo-tions which lead to the choice. The team then con-verts it into the opposite and writes them down. E.g. wideness, scope or freedom will be inverted to tightness, constriction or captivity.

4. After repeating the brie!ng the team is asked to apply the »inverted emotions« to the brie!ng and should !nd extremely strange, absolute impossible, completely wrong solutions to the problem. (Stan-dard brainstorming rules apply.)

pause

5. The last step tries to transforms the »wrongest« ideas into working once. Ask yourself questions like: What needs to be changed that it could work? What makes the wrong idea so special and can this aspect be used to !nd a creative solution? (This part is close to the force-!t method form synectics.)

Annotation: Step 3 might be irritating and complicated. Instead of inverting the feelings the !rst impressions or emo-tions to the pictures can be used in step 4.

h_da, Hochschule Darmstadt, Faculty of Media, Master, Creative Strategies 01.2011

During the session of “Wrong“

Example: Result of the technique “Wrong“

22

10. Wrong

Wrong

In this semester‘s last session we practiced the technique “wrong“, de-veloped by Daniel Gilgen. It works especially well to diminish the fear of saying something or being wrong during a creative session. Following an introduction and the briefing a warm-up phase is being started. This phase is all about doing something wrong. Monochromatic paintings, created with everyday objects, like a hammer, toothbrush or clothes are being made from all members. The resulting pictures are all collected and put on the floor next to each other.

In a second step the participants choose a picture that they like best. Within a group, each participant explains the emotions in respect to the picture, the team-members turn them into the opposite and write them done. Afterwards, the results are connected to a briefing, creating com-pletely wrong solutions.

Finally, the wrongest solution is picked and the group tries to transform it into a great and working solution.

Task

We used the ideas we have in mind for our master thesis to work with the technique.

Conclusion

This session was the most fun session in the semester. Being able to cre-ate things freely and without fear of failure is a great experience. Addi-tionally, the notion of being in a group was powerful and inspiring. I was astonished of the quality of the results all members created.

23

Cognitive Map

Scribble: Idea for a print ad

24

11. Communication Idea

Project Description

The project is about mobile devices and corresponding sensor technology. The sensors of the device are being used to identify the physical context of the user. Knowing the specific context, fitting information can be dis-played or assistive actions be performed.

Task

Is there a chance to assist people, with mobile devices, in in their every-day life by knowing their physical context?

Technique

In order to find a wide variety of different contexts and possible situations, in which people would need assistance, I used a visual brainstorming technique, namely the cognitive map. The freedom that this technique provides, combined with the fun it makes using it, creates a great amount of unfiltered ideas which can be connected to the problem later on.

Results

The outcome of the cognitive map lead to the idea of a series of print ads showing a variety of situations, where a smartphone application that knows what context you are in could help you out. The overall tone of the posters should be fun and a bit comically. The viewer should be reminded that he or she could also be in such a situation or already was, putting a smile on the viewer‘s face.

Conclusion

Using a cognitive map worked out great for the task. While drawing, all different kinds of new ideas that I did not already consider came to my mind and it was great fun to visualize them the best I could. As the cogni-tive map resulted in a great overview of possible contexts, it was a lot easier picking some for a more detailed visualization for the ads.

25

Conclusion

Creative strategies and techniques are powerful tools to generate new ideas and enhance existing ones. Applied correctly for the briefing at hand they can guide a path to great solutions. Getting the knowledge over time of where to use which of the techniques is going to enhance the outcome and decreases the level of frustration experienced. Another ex-perience I made is that many of the strategies work only in great teams, that are comfortable with each other, and with respect to the rules and constraints in place. As repeatedly said already in the sessions‘ conclu-sions, it is important to connect the results of these techniques to the task or briefing in order to get to valuable solutions.

“Being different for the sake of being different is not creativity.”

! Edvard de Bono

26

Appendix

Detailed View – Visual Map: Idea Island

27

Brainstorming – Chocolate: Osborn Checklist

28

Cognitive Map: Communication Idea

29

Scribble – Idea for a print ad: Communication Idea

Scribble – Idea for a print ad: Communication Idea

30

Scribble – Idea for a print ad: Communication Idea

31

Creative BriefingMedia Design 7 – Johannes Freund

Task 1 – Short DescriptionThe project is about mobile devices and sensor technology. The sensors of the device are being used to identify the physical context of the user. Knowing the specific context, fitting information can be displayed or assistive actions be performed.

BriefingIs there a chance to assist people, with mobile devices, in in their everyday life by knowing their physical context?

Task 1.2 – Proposed Creative TechniqueIn order to find a wide variety of different contexts and possible situations, in which people would need assistance, I would prefer a visual brainstorming technique, like "the idea island" or a cognitive map. The freedom that these techniques provide, combined with the fun they make doing them, create a great amount of unfiltered ideas which can be connected to the problem later on.

Task 2 – Preferred TechniqueMy preferred creative technique is the cognitive map. The power of a visual representation of thoughts and ideas suprises me everytime I use it. A great way to improve the conventional method of a cognitive map is to inject a cuckoo's egg–a idea or thought completely off-topic–into the map. Dealing with this new direction of thought and connecting it with the other ones is able to improve the results.

32

Master Project ProposalMobile Devices & Sensor Technology

IntroductionMobile devices offer a great personal computing experience by their ubiquitous availability in a wide range of use cases. One of the most interesting aspects of these devices is the ability to get information about the user and his environment, therefore creating a context of use, by various sensors built into the device. Using this context in order to provide a user with individual information and helpful assistance to suffice personal needs is a great opportunity for applications in the mobile space.

In order to get to the valuable information manufactures integrate more and more sensor-units into todays devices. Modern smartphones implement location and direction technology, microphones, cameras, determination of position in space, ambient light sensors and proximity sensors, already allowing for many different use cases.

Nevertheless, the trend for future devices shows that they are going to utilize even more technology, like RFID, barometers, thermometer, heart-rate monitors and even radar. Alongside with these technological improvements, the amount and precision of contexts of use increase, resulting in new possibilities for mobile applications.

ApproachDeveloping feasible concepts requires extensive research on already available and future sensor-technologies and their capabilities. Furthermore, hands-on testing and measurements are needed in order to get real-life data backing up research results and providing a basis for prototype applications. Specific focus could be on hybrid sensor-technology, combining data of multiple sensors to achieve better or even otherwise impossible results and insights.

Technical research and testing is being accompanied by in depth analysis of thereby arising new contexts of use in the mobile application space: Identifying real-world problems and developing fitting interactive media solutions. Based on a feasible scenario, a proof of concept application is going to be developed.

Johannes Freund | Application: Master – Media Direction

1

33

PossibilitiesOne area where sensor-equipped mobile devices are of great value is the possibility of huge, even world-spanning, nets of sensors. Devices from all over the world would send their gathered data in real-time to a server where it gets processed, allowing for great information depth. Potential real-life applications are detailed meteorologic data about temperature and pressure and traffic analysis for jam-detection.

Providing an outlook for areas where mobile applications and their obtained sensor-data could be used to assist people with their everyday tasks is closely connected to additional areas of digital media, like augmented reality, ambient intelligence, tangible and physical computing. In these connected fields, mobile computing can act as portable hub to collect, process and transmit data and offer ways for interaction with these systems.

Specific fields of application are, among others, located in the area of eHealth and Ambient Assisted Living. Using said device-capabilities motivating people doing, and at the same time suggesting suitable, sports, helping others keeping track of vital functions monitoring and detecting chronic diseases and enabling elderly or impaired people to live their everyday life easier and safer at home, are only a few possibilities.

Johannes Freund | Application: Master – Media Direction

2

34