Preliminary Ideas Idea/Concept Generation Refinement Convert quick sketches into detailed drawings Analysis Evaluate the top concepts “Creative thinking is 98% perspiration and 2% inspiration” -Thomas Edison

 Blue Sky Thinking Consider any idea that comes to mind  Record Quickly Free hand sketch to keep flow  Annotate Sketches Supplement to classify details  No Evaluation Stimulate other related ideas  Keep PDS in Mind

Concept Generation Team Approach Individual Approach Survey Method Research Method

Concept Generation Team Approach Individual Approach Survey Method Research Method

 Preliminary ideas from research of similar products and designs. Literature Searching Investigating User Behavior

 Synthesis – applying known principles to new applications  Reference Sources Technical Journals Manufacturers’ Brochures General Periodicals/Newspapers Patents Published Papers Text Books

 Find Useful Information FAST! 1. Identify information being sought General/specific in narrow/broad field 2. Identify kinds of publications Remember quantity of knowledge < number of documents 3. Start with a standard approach Library and Web-Based Search Engines 4. Evaluate Continuously Deadlines, retrieval delays, minimize sources, seek expert advice, skim read 5. Keep References Accurate and complete 6. Keep Small Collections Only keep what is of foreseeable use

1. Consult In/Experienced Users 2. Define User Interactions Tasks, user abilities, interface 3. Observe In/Experienced Users 4. Record Limiting Values Range of motion, forces, deflections

Concept Generation Team Approach Individual Approach Survey Method Research Method

 Pros Intense concentration, less distractions, greater freedom in style, less time constraint  Cons Prematurely attached to single solution, short list of ideas with more thorough sketches Stating Objectives Searching for Visual Inconsistencies Removing Mental Blocks Morphological Charts

Problem Identification Identification of Need (Proposal) Identification of Design Criteria (PDS) Problem Identification Identification of Need (Proposal) Identification of Design Criteria (PDS) Research Preliminary Ideas

Study Information PDS Need/Function Market Analysis/Trends Related Designs Problem Statement Written Complete & Comprehensive Concise Problem Requirements Important Features Questions Problem Limitations Confining Factors E.G. weight, color Start Sketching Physical limitations Requirements Annotations

 Finding new directions to search  Osborne’s Checklist  Use a thesaurus

Other Uses? New ways to use as is? Other uses if modified? Modify? New twist? Change meaning, color, motion, sound, odor, form, shape? Other changes? Magnify? What to add? More time? Greater frequency? Stronger? Higher? Longer? Thicker? Extra Value? Plus Ingredient? Duplicate? Multiply? Exaggerate? Minify? What to subtract? Smaller? Condensed? Miniature? Lower? Shorter? Lighter? Omit? Streamlined? Split up? Understate? Substitute? Who else instead? What else instead? Other ingredient? Other Material? Other process? Other power? Other place? Other approach? Other tone of voice? Rearrange? Interchange components? Other pattern? Other layout? Other sequence? Transpose cause and effect? Change pace? Change schedule? Reverse? Transpose positive and negative? How about opposites? Turn it backwards? Turn it upside down? Reverse roles? Change shoes? Turn tables? Turn other cheek? Combine? How about a blend, an assortment, an ensemble? Combine units? Combine purposes? Combine appeals? Combine ideas?

 Example Problem Statement  Elimination of puddles on sidewalks Crazy Idea  Wait for puddles to evaporate Evaporate  Vanish, fade, sink, fly away, die away, melt away dissolve, disappear, etc. Solutions  Sink: perforate the paving or corrugate it  Fly away: suck the rain off with a cleaning vehicle  Dissolve: use porous paving

 Write and Re-word  Example Welding distortion will cause a gap between adjacent surfaces. Manufacturing tolerances will cause misalignment between two planes. Manufacturing tolerances twoplane misalignment

 Intended to force divergent thinking 1. Define functions that any acceptable design must be able to perform Functions to be independent of one another 2. List sub-solutions to perform each function 3. Select acceptable set of sub-solutions One sub-solution for each function

Beer Bottle AttributesAlternatives ShapeTallShortCurvedSquareTriangular Volume12oz20oz8oz6oz40ozKeg ColorCrystalBlueYellowBrownGreenSilver FinishSmoothEtchRoughSandblasted TopCapTwistPullPlasticCorkGlass

Beer Bottle AttributesAlternatives ShapeTallShortCurvedSquareTriangular Volume12oz20oz8oz6oz40ozKeg ColorCrystalBlueYellowBrownGreenSilver FinishSmoothEtchRoughSandblasted TopCapTwistPullPlasticCorkGlass Standard “stubby”: Short, 12oz, brown, smooth, cap

Beer Bottle AttributesAlternatives ShapeTallShortCurvedSquareTriangular Volume12oz20oz8oz6oz40ozKeg ColorCrystalBlueYellowBrownGreenSilver FinishSmoothEtchRoughSandblasted TopCapTwistPullPlasticCorkGlass New configuration Curved, 6oz, crystal, etched, pull top

Concept Generation Team Approach Individual Approach Survey Method Research Method

 Driven by function, appearance, and economic manufacture  Cross-discipline interactions (e.g. engineering, marketing, manufacturing)  Human involvement Communication, personality differences, personal ambitions  Strong Personalities Insist on their design being superior & not accept others

 Basic Idea A group of people thinking and discussing the design in a relaxed and informal manner with even way-out ideas being discussed seriously and positively.

 Aim – stimulate a group of people to produce many ideas quickly  Rules Criticism is ruled out – judgment withheld until later “Free-wheeling” is welcome – the wilder ideas the better as it is easier to tame down than to think up! Quantity is wanted – the greater the number of ideas, the more likelihood of useful ideas Combination & improvement are sought – seek ways of improving the ideas of others

 When doing a brainstorm Optimum number of participants is ~12 Session should be preceded by individual work  Allows sufficient time for ideas to incubate Held in an informal, comfortable atmosphere Duration between minutes Approximate 100 ideas should be gathered in this time Leader should keep session going at brisk pace

 A theory/system  Based on creative thinking  Free use of Metaphor Analogy  Carefully selected small group Individuals Diverse personality and areas of specialization

 Form a Group Flexibility in thinking Range of knowledge and experience Contrasting personalities  Group Practice – relating spontaneous activity of brain and nervous system to the problem Direct Analogies Personal Analogies Symbolic Analogies Fantasy Analogies

 object by listing its basic characteristics  emotions the object might have in a given situation  how someone feels when using the object  what it feels like to be the object  Clear  Fruity  Happy at dinner  Friendly at parties  Sophisticated  Tired  Wanted  Important Describe:

 Oxymoronic in design  Two-word phrase self-contradictory: Careful Haste  Related to a particular problem and simulate ideas How might “careful haste” be used to generate ideas for safe evacuation from a school?

 How can car breaks adjust themselves?  How can we get floors to clean themselves?  IOWF – “In our wildest fantasies, how do we get X to do Y?

 Permits “spontaneous thinking” to influence “planned thinking”

1. Start in a good direction 2. Record spontaneous thoughts 3. Review planned strategy & spontaneous thoughts 4. Decide to follow planned or ‘switch’ 5. Repeat until spontaneous supports planned

Designer’s Attention Spontaneous thoughts not directly relevant to current approach 1 ST Review – No pattern 2 ND Review – Switch to fit 3 RD Review – Convergence