MindMap - How to use the Mindmap Strategy to Kick Start a Design Theme Effectively

How to do a mindmap. 

How do I start? How do I end? Should I know the purpose and objective of creating a

I’ll share with you why you should, and much more in this video.

In this video I describe what is the quickest, most effective way to construct a mindmap beginning from a design theme, that will end up with some good genuine practical Design Opportunities.

Let me know in the comments what else you like to learn and watch.

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Ideas Generation and Three Broad Areas you MUST note

Why the three broad points to note for Ideas Generation is important in this series of “Design and Coursework Chat’

“What are you doing?” “Why are you doing this now?” “You meant this for a kid 5 year old? You kidding me?” What is going on in this page? “Why is this so tiny? etc. When someone looks at your work and if these are often the questions asked, then this video may really be for you.

The Ideas Generating portion of the coursework is one of the most important part of the coursework. This is where your idea / solution begins; actually this began way before this; the moment you drafted the Design Brief. 

However the Ideas Generation part enables you to document and illustrate the solution(s) visually, communicating the intentions of a solution in the form of graphics and illustrations. 

The idea(s) can be further manipulated and evaluate via a series of modeling, and working iteratively simultaneously on paper.

Today’s chat I listed THREE board areas everybody ought to note:

1) Adding in a “Sub-Title” (i.e. the Design Specification) to your Title (‘Ideas Generation’),

2) Noting without fail the “User and the Environment” every moment of the ideation (and development) attempt, and

3) Including the “User and Hands/Body Parts” in your solutions.

These notes if applied, may make a big difference to the way you present your work. Making them accurate and focus, comprehensible without/minimal external questioning and clarification to find out what is going on, and helps you with sizes, proportions, materials and jointing methods, as early as at the Ideas Generation phase.

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The Ultimate ART of Mindmapping Guide

Find yours “Ultimate ART of Mindmapping”. Click HERE. 

• Struggling with mind mapping?
• Don’t know what to include?
• Don’t know how to continue?
• Don’t know when to end?
• Don’t know what to do?

 

Sample PDF snippets

What you will get:

Why struggle? Why spend countless hours on this? Be guided step by step on how you can make use of a mindmap efficiently to

• identify locations
• identify items/objects/products
• identify design needs & opportunities
• identify potential solutions

(Worked example options available too).

Let me know in the comments what else you like to learn and watch.

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Pictorial Theme Definition to Design Specifications

*Updated in January 2022*

What you'll see in this post are visual examples on 

1. Theme Definition (Optional to read but NOT NEEDED from 2021 D&T Syllabus)
2. Mindmap on the Theme (exploring the theme)
3. Theme Board (Optional to read but do this ONLY IF needed)
4. Tips on how to use a mind map to identify Design Needs/Situations
5. Identifying and drafting Design Needs/Situations 
6. Selecting Design Need / Situation for coursework
7. Design Brief
8. Design Considerations
9. Design Specifications
10. (a) Pictorial Idea Generation and Development (Using SCAMPER) (Click here)
11. (b) Pictorial Idea Generation and Development (Using Attribute Listing / Morphological Method) (Click here).

Use them as a reference and a guide to start or to improve your journal. Make informed choices on your own on what your takeaways should be after looking at the materials in here. Do not copy. 

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Theme Definition 

!!! Do this ONLY if absolutely necessary !!!

For example if you need to understand terms in more detail in order to progress.

Define the theme using either online or physical dictionaries. Use a variety of sources for richer scope of definition.

Including synonyms and antonyms helps. Antonyms give the opposite meanings of the defined word - which is exactly what you need for exploring design opportunities. 

Add photos and images to substantiate some keywords - images also serve to spice up the page - makes understanding the definitions faster at a glance.

Mindmap on the Theme (exploring the theme)

Every stage in the design journal is build up from the previous section. If you understood them theme perfectly, you will have little problem mapping out the theme.

End the mindmap with identified products / objects followed by a brief description of the problems or issues associated with them. 

These 'comments' at the end becomes your identified design need and situations. Which you simply extract and write them formally in your Design Needs and Situations section.

Theme Board 

(Do this ONLY IF needed)

A theme board is a collage of images/products/activities to illustrate what the theme means. There is no need for annotations or descriptions in a theme board. 

Remember that you got to know and understand the theme first before doing this. Use the keywords you discovered about the theme and find related images for the theme board.

You can use the completed theme board to help you in your mind map later (see below). Use the same theme board to help you identify potential problems or issues.

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Tips on how to use a mind map to identify Design Needs/Situations

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Identifying and drafting Design Needs/Situations

Identifying and drafting your Design Needs and Situation section should not be difficult because all the information you need are already in your mind map (see above tips on how to use a mind map to identify design opportunities).

Pick and choose the information you need and rephrase them in a paragraph or two stating clearly the context and the problems / issues. Finish off with a 'wish list' - that will pave your way to writing a design brief (see below).

Selecting Design Need / Situation for coursework + Design Brief

You may use a modified Plus, Minus and Interesting (PMI) method to help select a Design Situation to work on later. You can use any other decision making techniques to do this.

Here the Design Need and Situation is repeated. Fine tune your paragraph if needed.

A design brief is quickly drafted by rephrasing the 'wish list' at the end of the Design Need and Situation paragraph.

Design Considerations

The design Consideration and Limitations (or constraints) is where you list out general points on what should be considered during the Ideaiton stage. Begin a mind map surfacing very general areas like e.g. functionalities - then move on to describe what do you expect in terms of functions.

The further you are from the core (centre of the mind map) the more specific you become. You'll reach a point at the far end where you need to research for data to be included. e.g. if it has to hold some pens, then research how many exactly do you need. 5 pens?

These quantifiable specific data / information you have at the end of the Design Considerations and Limitation mind map (again) automatically becomes a preview of your Design Specifications (see below).

Design Specifications

Remember you read in the previous sections that whatever comes after in your design journal stage, some, if not most of the information should come from the previous section. 

If you did your Design Considerations and Limitations as suggested above, making a list of Design Specifications is a breeze. All the information you need and want is already available and researched. 

Extract your quantifiable and researched data / information and then transform them into Design Specification points. Categories and order your Design Specifications beginning with Functional specifications. A typical design specification begins with 'The product must...'

Note that these points in turn becomes your guide for Ideation (see below).

Pictorial Idea Generation and Development (Using SCAMPER) 2016 (Click here)

FAQ: Your email enquiry - my answer

Your Question:
'How do I know if my mind-map for the theme is sufficient? I have done part of it now I don't know what else to add'.

My Answer:
My two suggestion for you is as follows:
1) Make sure you understand the objective for doing anything (e.g. the objective for doing a mind-map for your design theme) before you start doing. Do you know yours?
2) Once you understand the objective for doing something, you will surely know (a) what to look out for (i.e. what research areas to focus on), (b) what it will lead you to do later, and (c) know when you have reached enough information and its time to stop.

Due to the nature of the theme, my mind-map for exploration of the theme 'Storage' is as follows:

1) Begin with the theme (in this case 'Storage') somewhere in the middle of the page. 'Storage' now is your BROAD CONCEPT. Now list out the DETAILS.
2) Branch out by listing the DETAILS, i.e. locations where 'Storage' can be found. (e.g. Home, School, etc).
3) Now each DETAIL (e.g. Home, School, etc.) in turn becomes a BROAD CONCEPT. Of which other details will branch out.
4) e.g. 'Home' now becomes a BROAD CONCEPT. Branch out DETAILS, i.e. the various parts of 'Home'. (e.g. Kitchen, Bedroom, etc.)
5) Take e.g. 'Kitchen' as a BROAD CONCEPT, it is now about time to list out a) items that requires storage, and b) existing storage solutions.
6) The next stage will be to complete your mind-map with relevant photographs and images of the examples you have listed at the end of your mind-map.

Following this internal link for an example of the steps shown above:
3NA Storage Innovation Research Starter SOS
http://designjournalsos.blogspot.com/2011/01/3na-storage-innovation-research-starter.html

Additional (Important) Information:
When you think you are done you ask yourself if you have done a good job exploring what 'Storage' is (and more challenging, what 'Storage' is not). If someone comes and looks at your mind-map without the title 'Storage' in the middle, will he be able to say,'Ah, I know this is an exploration on the various types of storages', or 'Oh, I didn't know that this can be considered as storages', or 'Oh I didn't know much about storages until I see your mind-map on it'. etc.

What is next?
Hopefully what you have done will enable you to identify one or more of the following design opportunities:

1) a problem area that requires a better solution than existing ones or for a problem that may not have an existing solution yet, and/or
2) an area of improvement to existing solutions, and/or
3) challenge yourself to an opportunity for creating an alternative solution. Come out with a different way or a different experience to do something.

Hope that helps.

Regards
mrdaniellim

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