Fostering Creativity

It was hard to get started on this as I had over thought it for days, mainly trying to be clever in what I wanted to do without a clue on what I wanted to do. Just running round in circles. What should be an easy task had me stumped until yesterday. It has also been a busy week so I went with what I know with this one and used a process that I like to use for idea generation.

Its a mixture of some and an adaption of others. So I started with the theme of survival on a Desert Planet. I have been listening to DUNE on audiobook on the way to work for the past week and I have just finished a book called The Long Walk which is an amazing story of survival against all odds. So I took this as my starting point, I wanted to create a device/asset that would aid in my survival on the Dessert Planet. First, I completed a mind-map that outlined the Need, then in each Need there is the Problem followed by a solution. To survive we need Food, Shelter, Water, O2, and Heat The rest came based on the location. At the same time i created a mood-board of sorts for visual stimuli, I like to use Pinterest for this, and I have a number of boards that I returned to. For this is created Sand Planet and returned to SteamPunk and CyberPunk.

Sand Planet https://www.pinterest.co.uk/priestleycgd/sand-planet/ (Links to an external site.)

SteamPunk https://www.pinterest.co.uk/priestleycgd/steampunk/ (Links to an external site.)

CyberPunk https://www.pinterest.co.uk/priestleycgd/cyberpunk/ (Links to an external site.)

Finally, I use my junk/scrap box and I use a MashUP / Collage techniques where and I will grab the first 3 - 5 objects in a 10-second window. so not to think too much about the form of the object. Picking one of the solutions from the mind map I create an asset. Glue it together and spray it grey, this will then be drawn from and added to in Illustration which can then be modelled in a 3D package. I enjoy this process and I like the results it pulls. I use this in class for many different design outcomes including Creature Creation. When doing this in group setting it motivates those who struggle with coming up with ideas and so being faced with a pile of junk on the table and getting practical with your hands, using the imagination that so many have locked away or forgot about is refreshing. The late Sir Ken Robinson said in his most famous Ted Talk that we are educated out of creativity. (TED, 2007). I certainly see this with 16 - 18 year olds and getting them to open their imagination can be difficult but rewarding to see. I Think this is why so many older people love Lego, creativity and Imagination.

Here are my results

TED, 2007. Do Schools Kill Creativity?. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL70DEC2B0568B5469&v=iG9CE55wbtY&feature=emb_title> [Accessed 29 September 2020].