Creativity and design 2016 day 02

Creativity and Design
Day 2: Who?

How did your views change yesterday?

Design and
Creativity
(D&C)
why?
who?
how?
what
if?
so
what?
who?

Please define yourself in 10 statements

http://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/3178

The hemispheric division of the brain is meaningless for
creativity for a few reasons:
• Creativity is not reducible to cognitive processes
• In any case, multiple neural processes are necessary for
higher-order cognition
• Moreover: neuroplasticity; the brain capacity to re-
organise itself (functional and structural changes) as a
result of learning and experience!
13
http://www.todayonline.com/

“We review a total of 72 experiments… Taken together,
creative thinking does not appear to critically depend
on any single mental process or brain region”
Dietrich, A., & Kanso, R. (2010). A review of EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging
studies of creativity and insight. Psychological bulletin, 136(5), 822.

"I have devoted 30 years of research to how creative people
live and work… If I had to express in one word what makes
their personalities different from others, it's complexity.
They show tendencies of thought and action that in most
people are segregated. They contain contradictory extremes;
instead of being an individual, each of them is a multitude."
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nXnGSfzoTHw/maxresdefault.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFs9WO2B8uI

Wear many hats, be able to scope problems and draw from
ideas from a wide technical and social repertoire
Gold, R (2001) The Plenitude, MIT Press

New experiences Inaccurate Moderately
inaccurate
Moderately
accurate
Accurate
1. I have an intense curiosity and a vivid imagination
2. I like playing with words (metaphors, rhymes)
3. I try to avoid new, risky or unprecedented ideas
4. I often try new routes when commuting
5. I rarely spend time daydreaming
6. I only read books/magazines related to my job
7. I don’t understand abstract/contemporary art
8. I’d rather travel in organised tours
9. I enjoy trying/cooking new cuisines and dishes
10. Most of my friends are very similar to me (age,
profession, hobbies, ethnicity)

Creativity can certainly be learned
(can it be taught?)
14

http://www.fastcompany.com/1746447/david-kelley-designing-curious-employees

https://img1.etsystatic.com/045/0/6534203/il_570xN.741721601_ej6w.jpg
http://americanfootballfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/positions.jpg
“They contain contradictory extremes; instead of being an individual, each of them is a multitude”

Creativity is a “team sport”; a property of systems.15

“In primates, social group size is a
monotonic function of brain size”
Large brains evolved to manage unusually complex social systems // Robin Dunbar

All human cognition is fundamentally, social16
Family
Culture
Nature
Friends
Media‘you’

How many of your 10 statements are social?

From islands to awareness to appreciation to understanding
Fruchter, R. (2001). Dimensions of teamwork education,
International Journal of Engineering Education, 17(4/5), 426-430.

Some rights reserved by Joseeivissa 2.0
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/house-river-serbia/
ISLAND

“engineers are so square-minded and only do numbers,
they aren't as creative as designers"
ISLANDS
“designers don't know much; they come up with crazy
unfeasible fluff, but we engineer great solutions”

Some rights reserved by Imahinasyon Photography
AWARENESS

“engineers are good at solving problems and some can be
quite inventive, they can solve our technical problems"
AWARENESS
“artsy stuff can be useful, great design makes our efficient
solutions usable, let them decorate our products”

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/wind-blown-tree/
APPRECIATION

“there are marked differences across engineering areas;
specialists know x amazing stuff but are trained in y limiting ways”
APPRECIATION
“good designers can help everyone in a team be creative, they are
able to see things differently and bring value to technology”

Some rights reserved by ilkin
UNDERSTANDING

“I learned key concepts, techniques, and tools from other disciplines. This enables me
to contribute in ways I couldn’t do alone, and others cannot do without me”
UNDERSTANDING
“I learned key concepts, techniques, and tools from other disciplines. This enables me
to contribute in ways I couldn’t do alone, and others cannot do without me”

Collaboration is hard; creative collaboration is harder!16

https://rework.withgoogle.com/blog/five-keys-to-a-successful-google-team/
“Over two years we conducted 200+
interviews with Googlers and looked
at more than 250 attributes of 180+
active Google teams.
We were pretty confident that we'd
find the perfect mix of individual
traits and skills necessary for a stellar
team.
We were dead wrong. Who is on a
team matters less than how the team
members interact, structure their
work, and view their contributions.”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraleigh/
Ficus benghalensis: aerial prop roots grow into thick woody trunks
which, with age, can become indistinguishable from the main trunk

How can your team be (more) creative?

Innovation champion
What is the country that you consider to be the leading innovation champion?
Q1. What is THE country that you consider to be the leading innovation champion? Base business executives: 2,748
+5 -1 - 1 +2 = + 1-3 = =
NEW
ENTRANTS-6 +1 + 1 +1
NEW
ENTRANTS
Points difference with 2014 ranking
33%
17%
10% 9%
3% 3% 3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%
USA Japan Germany China South
Korea
Israel UAE UK India Sweden France Singapore Australia KSA Canada Russia Switzerland Malaysia Turkey Mexico South
Africa
Finland
41

https://www.globalinnovationindex.org/userfiles/file/GII-2015-Infographics.pdf

http://martinprosperity.org/media/Global-Creativity-Index-2015.pdf

• Power Distance: the degree of equality/inequality between
people in a particular society
• Individualism: the degree to which a society reinforces individual
or collective achievement and interpersonal relationships
• Masculinity: the degree societies reinforce the traditional
masculine work role model of achievement, control, and power
• Uncertainty Avoidance: the level of acceptance for uncertainty
and ambiguity within a society
• Long-Term Orientation: how every society has to maintain some
links with its own past while dealing with the challenges of the
present and future
• Indulgence: the extent to which people try to control their
desires and impulses, based on the way they were raised
http://geert-hofstede.com/

Seven (7) countries in the Geert Hofstede research have
Individualism (IDV) as their highest Dimension: USA (91),
Australia (90), United Kingdom (89), Netherlands and Canada
(80), and Italy (76).
High IDV ranking indicates a society with a more
individualistic attitude and relatively loose bonds with others.
The populace is more self-reliant and looks out for
themselves and their close family members.

“The low Individualism (IDV) ranking is manifest in
a close and committed member 'group', be that a
family, extended family, or extended
relationships. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is
paramount. The society fosters strong
relationships where everyone takes responsibility
for fellow members of their group.”

Asia and Latin America: Collectivism

(with some exceptions)

Scandinavian countries: “A low Masculinity
(MAS) may be indicative of a low level of
differentiation and discrimination between
genders. In this culture, females are treated
more equally to males in all aspects of society.
This low Masculinity ranking may also be
displayed as a more openly nurturing society.”

“Masculine society: Performance is
highly valued and early required as
the school system separates children
into different types of schools at the
age of ten.
People rather “live in order to work”
and draw a lot of self-esteem from
their tasks. Managers are expected to
be decisive and assertive. Status is
often shown, especially by cars,
watches and technical devices.”

Uncertainty avoidance (UAI)
•High UAI when people feel threatened by uncertain or
unknown situations;
•Low UAI when “risks are accepted, such as changing
jobs and starting activities for which there are no
rules”
Hofstede, G. (2001), Culture's Consequences; Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations across Nations, Thousand Oaks: Sage

http://www.designsingapore.org/Files/Dsg_II_Strategic_Blueprint.pdf
“… this rate of change will need to be matched with
mindset and paradigm changes in order for us to
maintain our ability to innovate, and to create new
value.
Design must become the critical strategic tool for
futureprooﬁng Singapore from the uncertainties of the
future.”

Reflect
How can you embrace ambiguity?
Does your team/organisation avoid uncertainty?
Remember recent responses to uncertainty

Challenge
Look for stable certainties, then prioritise them
Select one certainty near the top of your list
Question it, imagine alternate scenarios and their consequences

Discussion
When may ambiguity be desirable/valuable?
How may we work with ambiguity?
Develop ways for you and your team to welcome ambiguity

Every organisation requires a unique approach to nurture
a creative atmosphere
17

What type of creativity may fit your
organisation?

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kZKG2wqs9_Y/maxresdefault.jpg

A creative atmosphere in built on mutual trust18

Abductive logic
‘Inference to the best explanation’
Premises that lead to “what if?” statements
Deductive: “All men are mortal, therefore…”
Inductive: “All swans are white…”
Abductive: “Our new idea will be a success…”

Dean Kamen (2002): Big Idea
“a fairly big problem in transportation”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSWBcizzpKM

Apple G4 Cube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-PB86oy044
Rotman Design Challenge 2013
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNgBRcp0u7w

Creative leadership
http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000yUjs2SzhMLY/s/900/720/009TokyoKaraoke25OCT12-DSC4431.jpg

Problems don’t exit!19

12/03: "Students have
problems finding lecturers"
12/03: “Poor teamwork due
to limited social interaction"
26/03: “Self-learning
toolkits"
26/03: “An experiential
workshop to learn advantages
of collaboration”

Sample well-framed problems:
“We decide to tackle child obesity, since it is a
growing trend in many countries including
Singapore and will target one or more of the
key factors involved: sedentarism, eating
disorders, stress, nutrition, food preparation,
advertising, genetics, and inherited habits.”
“Doing laundry wastes too much water,
requires too much energy and generates
unnecessary waste. Something radically
different needs to change to reduce pollution
and improve efficiency dramatically.”
“A new space is required for exhibition and
work activities. The design should reflect a
forward-thinking integration of technology and
design. Allocated space and budget are
attached.”
“Studies A and B of creative teams report that
existing software applications don’t offer
adequate support for creative collaboration.”
Not so well-framed problems:
“I want to help people lower their energy
consumption by automating lights at home”
(Jumps straight to a specific solution)
“Students need a system to locate their
lecturers outside class hours” (Fails to inspect
actual problems and lacks a basic
understanding of teaching/learning dynamics)
“Buildings should promote courteous
behaviours between dwellers” (Based on
personal biased impressions, easy to
challenge if no further baseline data or
concrete examples are given)
“We will design an electric baby stroller”
(Why? Who needs it?)
“The problem with poverty is people lack
money” (Not only a circular argument, also
ignores a myriad non-financial factors)

Design briefs
https://vimeo.com/107567840

Marketing brief:
Design a “classroom in a bus” where children learn about recycling
Project for TetraPak Mexico (1997-1998)

Fernando Prieto, Ricardo Sosa. “TetraBus”: Children Museum on Wheels. Client: Tetra Pak Mexico (1996-1997)

Museum in a Bus Fernando Prieto / Ricardo Sosa

1. Videogames^
2. A car^
3. A bungalow^
4. Kitchen utensils
5. Toys
6. Farm tools
7. Learning spaces
8. Museum exhibits
9. Playgrounds
10. Point-of-sale
11. Handcrafts
12. Phone cabin
13. Stairs
14. Interactive displays
15. Websites
16. Virtual galleries
17. Office furniture
18. Lamp
19. Suitcase
20. Chairs and benches
21. Book covers
22. Picture frames
23. Interactive toys
24. A thousand products, websites,
systems, services#
25. Rapid prototyping machines#
26. Thirteen companies#
27. Doors*
28. Car dashboard displays*
29. More cars*
30. Robot-friendly furniture*
31. A visual divergence test
32. Reconfigurable robots
33. Social robots
34. VR systems
35. Interactive art exhibits
36. Too many apps
37. Curriculums, syllabus, activities,
support materials
38. Design platforms, methods and
techniques
^ as a teenager, before entering college
# by around 900 design and engineering students in 5 countries
* by computational generative systems that I’ve authored

Oakley Disruptive By Design
“Create an innovative design that will disrupt
elite sports performance in a way that hasn’t
been seen before. It needs to be an idea that's
more than just an adaptation of an existing
approach. It needs to be something new and
radical. Something that is truly Disruptive by
Design. The most disruptive ideas come from
unfamiliar and unexpected places. Take
inspiration from the wider world: nature,
aerospace, architecture, science fiction. There
should be no limits to your sources. There are
also no restrictions on the format of the
design. It could be a product, a garment, a
new way to use technology, a digital design, or
something entirely new that responds to or
enhances elite sports performance:
disruptivebydesign.com
James Dyson Award
Design something that solves a problem. The
brief is broad. We’re looking for designers who
think differently to create products that work
better. Engineers who follow an iterative
design process. Rough and ready prototypes.
Products that have a significant and practical
purpose, are commercially viable, and are
designed with sustainability in mind:
jamesdysonaward.org/the-brief/

http://www.ideaslaboratory.com/projects/innovation-barometer-2013/
“The ability to understand customers”

Define your users and stakeholders
http://www.healthyfoodspirit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Red-Onions-health-benefits-almighty.jpg

Users, customers (external and internal) are the raison
d'être* of your organisation. Do you know them?
* ‘reason for being’
20

“ It’s so fascinating to look and listen to people”
http://interviewproject.davidlynch.com
“HONY now provides a worldwide audience with daily glimpses
into the lives of strangers”
http://www.humansofnewyork.com

“Double ignorance: we don’t know the true impacts of our products/services and we
don’t realise that we don’t know” Daniel Goleman in Ecological Intelligence

Dr. Ricardo Sosa: sosa.ricardo@gmail.com

User opinion User behavior User beliefs
Surveys: ask large groups
to choose between
options
Focus group and review
sessions: enroll people to
evaluate or try out an
idea
Record and analyse
emotional responses to a
specific set of stimuli
(i.e., semantic differential
techniques)
Semi-structured
interviews: engage in a
dialogue to inspect a
specific topic
Generative sessions: give
people tools and
materials and ask them
to imagine and build
things
Record and analyse what
people say while solving
a structured task (i.e.,
think aloud methods)
Contextual dialogue:
spend time with people
in their natural context
and engage in
conversations
Ethnographic
observations: immerse
yourself in situations
where you can witness
issues of interest
Listen to people chat and
articulate their ideas in
their natural setting (i.e.,
conversation analysis)
Increasingdegreeofstructureandexplicitness
Increasing importance of ethical considerations
Sanders, E. N. (2000). Generative tools for co-designing. In Collaborative Design (pp. 3-12). Springer London.

User model vs. Task model
Dr. Ricardo Sosa: sosa.ricardo@gmail.com
“It was performing so well from a design standpoint that users no longer felt the need to browse areas outside of
the News Feed as often, so they were spending less time on the site” http://dcurt.is/facebooks-predicament

Co-Design
Liz Sanders and her team use this map to present participatory approaches in design: http://www.maketools.com

http://www.fastcompany.com/pivot
http://www.fastcompany.com/1836238/how-eric-ries-coined-pivot-and-what-your-business-can-learn-it

http://i.imgur.com/8oixIdR.jpg.jpg
https://hbr.org/2011/04/why-most-product-launches-fail

Rule # 1: Don’t ask what people want
Rule # 2: Don’t (only) ask people
Rule # 3: Don’t (only) listen to people

“If I had an hour to solve a problem
I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about
the problem and 5 minutes thinking
about solutions”
-A wise remark attributed to Einstein
Calaprice, A. (2010), The Ultimate Quotable Einstein,, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.

“If I had an hour to solve a problem
I’d spend 55 minutes talking about
the problem with people and 5
minutes thinking about solutions”
(My modified version)

“A paradigm shift occurs when a question is asked
inside the Current paradigm that can only be
answered from outside it”
The Art of the Question, Marilee Goldberg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oberazzi/318947873/sizes/l/

A Powerful Question
• generates curiosity in the
listener
• stimulates reflective
conversation
• is thought-provoking
• surfaces underlying assumptions
• invites creativity and new
possibilities
• generates energy and forward
movement
• channels attention and focuses
inquiry
• stays with participants
• touches a deep meaning
• evokes more questions

Scope of Powerful Q’s
Different levels of asking the same question:
• How satisfied are you with your job?
• How would you personally define a satisfying job?
• How may one define job satisfaction?
• How may one possibly define happiness?
(balance insight, scope and relevance)

Assumptions of Powerful Q’s
Different assumptions behind the same question:
• What can you do to improve your job satisfaction?
• What can the company do to improve the job satisfaction of its
employees?
• How would new KPIs affect your job satisfaction?
• How may job satisfaction impact life quality?
(implicit / explicit)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86979666@N00/7623744452/sizes/l/

Debriefing and (re)interpretations
• Insights
• New questions
• Unlocking doors
• Building connections
• Discovering opportunities

“It's really sad to have
biological limbs, you're
constrained by nature
and you can’t upgrade”
Hugh Herr: http://www.dailymail.co.uk
“We started at: What does the user want? And we think the
user really doesn’t want to carry a wallet. Why do you want
to do that?” Tim Cook
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101989345
“Let’s retire the term entrepreneur. It’s outdated
and loaded with baggage. It smells like a members-
only club. Everyone should be encouraged to start
his own business… Instead of entrepreneurs, let’s
call them starters. Anyone who creates new
business is a starter. You just need an idea, a touch
of confidence, and a push to get you started.”
“Rework” by Jason Fried and David H. Hansson

http://www.whoismcafee.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/jm-do-something-diff..jpg

Creativity and design 2016 day 02

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