Idea Generation Techniques - Which and When to Use?

1) For 'N' and 'O' Level students looking for the complete Design Journal self-help links please click here or scroll down to "Design Journal 2015 | Complete Set of Post links for Design Journaling from Beginning to the End".

2) Click 'here' for "Secondary ONE - 2015 - A (Simple) Wood Note Holder (Starter) Project" & Drawing Practice".

3) Click 'here' for "Secondary ONE - 2015 - Design Journal - A Pen/Pencil + Note Holder".

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In the Singapore Design & Technology Syllabus, there are a few Idea Generation Techniques mentioned and taught from the textbook. They are

1. Attribute Listing.
2. Morphological Analysis.
3. Relay Thinking.
4. Shape borrowing (found in the lower secondary textbook).
5. The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. technique.

I will not repeat what you can find online or from the textbook on what they are and how the various techniques can be used. But you'll find my 'reviews' on the techniques of which I hope you can end up making a better choice on which and when to use for your coursework. 

Avoid the one method fits the whole class pitfall. e.g. everybody use 'shape borrow' or everybody use 'morphological analysis'. Every project is unique and should be approached with the most appropriate techniques. This is the same with choice of 'research' and 'decision making' techniques throughout your design journal.

Back to Ideas Generation Techniques Review:

(1) & (2)  Attribute Listing and the Morphological Analysis

I am not a fan of both Attribute Listing and the Morphological Analysis as I find them producing very mechanically random 'fast-food' styled outcomes. Though you can use them to produce hundreds and thousands of hybrid ideas which are just a little different from the next, they are not useful for the unmotivated and lowly engaged students. The morphological and attribute listing technique both require highly motivated and engaged students to evaluate, synthesize and make meaning out of the various random outcomes - which many are either not ready for the required thinking efforts that comes after or they simply do not have the caliber to wrap the ideas up into something more practical for refinement.

However it doesn't mean you avoid them. You can use them in the beginning to generate some initial ideas to kick-off the process especially if you do not know what to do and which ideas to begin with. By all means make use of the two techniques but you must understand the respective functions and what outcomes you are expected to end up with.

(3) Relay Thinking

This method of idea generation is fun and it is collaborative by nature. It is useful to gain new insights and perspectives from your friends for your project and to find out what other interesting ideas may evolve from your initial ideas they can think of which you did not. At the end of the session, you can then evaluate and select potential ideas or concepts to be included in your Ideas Generation section. 

(4) Shape Borrowing

This is perhaps one of the most commonly used technique for the lower secondary projects. It is very widely and effectively used in real world design examples where great products are outcomes from borrowing shapes, forms and functional concepts from nature. This technique is great - if you know what it is for and what you will be getting out of it. Otherwise this process if attempted will be as mechanically meaningless as the first two techniques I mentioned above.

The shape borrowing technique can be used for the following outcomes in your project (or product):

You can get inspired by shapes/forms + function fitting [more correctly 'by nature' (animals, fish, insects or plants, any objects, etc.)] for their first principle functionality application.

Example 1: A bottle opener project. Inspired by the beak of a parrot and/or the like. With an end-product that resembles the functional shape of an inspired source - the 'hooked' beak as a leverage to pry open a bottle cap.

Example 2: Getting inspired by the construction site's piling machine. The action of 'piling' columns in the ground seems to fit the idea of a heavy rod slamming on my walnut / almond nut. Then think of what other objects or from nature that uses something to crack nuts or crack open anything.

Example 3: Getting inspired by the shape of a Beetle to an end product, say to the profile of a new car design - form fitting that meaningfully resembles the inspired source. Perhaps for aerodynamic properties or just simply aesthetics or the like.

An example of a shape borrowing project can be found by clicking 'here'.

One example of shape borrowing gone wrong is to fit a supposedly inspired shape to a potential product that does not have an obvious relationship. I am talking about 'meaningfully' inspired applications here. Think about this, how about an 'inspired' dolphin form as a coin box? How do you relate a dolphin to money? coin? storage? Weird isn't it? It will make a perfectly functional container but that is all you can say about it. You cannot tag along the following keywords on that like 'innovative', 'fun' 'interesting', 'novelty', 'funny', etc. It is a plain boring functional product.

(5) The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. technique

The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. technique is good for 'creating' your first idea and evolving that single concept into other hybrids or something else better later on. Used with varying level of details, the technique is excellent both for Idea Generation (S.C.A.M.P.E.R. used loosely at a macro level generating new raw broad concepts freely) as well as for Concept Refinement (S.C.A.M.P.E.R. used at a micro level focusing on generating options from confirmed concept parts and working towards final decision making as a whole).

I leave this technique for the last because if you really understood what this is,the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. technique covers (almost) all other existing techniques (including the others mentioned above) you can find. Maybe I should just sayALL other Idea Generation techniques falls under part of or a combination of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. acronym.

Have a quick look:

• "Attribute Listing" falls under mainly "S = Substitute". And as well as one or a combination of the following: "C = Combine", "A = Adapt" and "M = Modify".
• "Morphological Analysis" falls under mainly "S = Substitute" & "C = Combine". And as well as one or a combination of the following: "A = Adapt", "M = Modify".
• "Shape borrowing" falls under mainly "S = Substitue". And as well as one or a combination of the following: "C = Combine", "A = Adapt", "M = Modify", "P = Put to other use" and "R =Reverse/Rearrage".
• The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. technique is everything above and includes explicitly "E =Eliminate" which is not part of the activities in the other techniques. How the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. technique can be used meaningfully can be found by clicking 'here'.

Conclusion

So, that wraps up my opinion and views on the various (textbook) idea generation techniques you will come across sooner or later if you chose (or did not choose) to do Design & Technology. 

Idea generation is a fun process. The process is addictive. I can loose sleep and food over this.At the same time, many students who are put off when they arrive at this stage claim that they have no idea, can't draw and/or don't know where to begin.

In order to be having the kind of fun and addiction in Idea Generating, it is necessary the idea generator

• should have a reasonable level of sketching competency (technical competency)
• is comfortable and fluid in his idea generating ability (cognitive competency) and 
• wants to produce quality work (positive emotional presence). 

There are various drawing techniques and practices you can find in my blog as well as on the Design References label on the right hand side of the blog page which you can self-teach and practice. 

Your ability and confidence in generating ideas and communicating them through clear and readable sketches (and annotations) really depends on your willingness to upgrade you competency in drawing. There is no way you can achieve that without practice.

Finally, grow to like (if you did not) what you are doing in Design & Technology - especially to those who did not choose to do this subject or just found out that coursework requires a substantial commitment, effort and time to complete. I say so because I have met too many in my experience. 

To correct what I said about needing substantial effort and time required, if you (a) knew the design process well and (b) commit yourself in the beginning to identify a genuine need (or problem) that requires a solution, you will be able to complete the remainder of the coursework with minimum drag. You also have less of your teacher needing to bug you to produce work. 

The design process for your coursework is no rocket science. It's how everyone of us think everyday. We have a problem or a challenge (Design Need and Situation), we find solutions (generate ideas), we refine our solutions (develop the idea) so that it can eventually be made and put to good use (Realization, evaluation, testing and improvement).

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P.S. Let me know if the information is useful or that you have been helped. Feedback and your opinions welcomed.

Secondary ONE - 2015 - Design Journal - A Pen/Pencil + Note Holder

1) For 'N' and 'O' Level students looking for the complete Design Journal self-help links please click here or scroll down to "Design Journal 2015 | Complete Set of Post links for Design Journaling from Beginning to the End".

2) Click 'here' for Secondary ONE - 2015 - "A (Simple) Wood Note Holder (Starter) Project" & Drawing Practice.

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Dear Secondary ONE students, 

Read on and you will find classroom slides, steps and guides to complete your Design Journal. 

Regards

mrdanielsos

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NOTE: Students are not given printed templates. All images shown are classroom slides. Students copy (when necessary) and complete their work in A4 sketchbooks which is now called a 'Design Journal'.

We began with a design brief.  A design brief is a concise statement that spells out clearly  what the project is all about. 

You were given a partially completed Design Brief (Fig. 1) to fill in the number of pens or pencils you wish the holder to store and where you intended to use the product. Note that the maximum number of pens / pencils is kept at 3 for this project.

Fill in the number of pens and/ or pencils you wish to have. You are also required to provide reasons for your decision. These reasons that you provided are actually the Design Need & Situation which comes before the Design Brief. Note that not all classes will need to complete Design Need & Situation.

Fig. 1

Next we had an example in class where we had to plan a class outing to East Coast on one of the afternoons. We talked about the things we need to consider as a committee like considering the weather, what to bring, what to do, about the transport, etc. 

Then we apply the same logic, change our objective and say, "Now we need to design and make a pen/pencil holder, so what are they things we need to consider?"

So we get, "We need to consider how many pens / pencils to store, the materials that we have, how much time we are given to make the product, do we have a budget for additional features, etc". 

Each of these points make a factor to consider. (See Fig. 2). Before you begin to make a list of consideration or constraint factors, I find it useful if you would 

1. recall your design brief and then 
2. begin with "I must consider..."

For example,

"I need to design and make a pen/pencil holder, I must consider...". 

Fill in the blank with 'I must consider - function (i.e. what will the product do), users (i.e. who will be using the product?), cost (i.e. what budget constraint do I have?), etc."

Note: A constraint is a factor that are limitations imposed on a project. For example, time is a constraint because we have to work within a certain time frame to complete the product.

You may refer to Chapter 7.4 Design Considerations in your textbook for better understanding of what we are doing here.

Fig. 2

Fig. 3 below shows an extension of the above activity. Once the relevant statements are written down for every factor that you have listed, it will be good for you to start 'answering' some of those. Extend your mind-map and write those 'answers' in as shown in Fig. 3.

For example, 

Function - What will the product do? Answer: The product needs to store 2 pens and 1 pencil. And some space for empty pieces of post-it paper.

Once you complete this stage, writing your list of Design Specifications next is a breeze.

Fig. 3

Read Chapter 7.5 Design Specifications before the next lesson. 

If we have a two period lesson next, the other half I'll teach you drawing skills. 

Click 'here' for Secondary ONE - 2015 - "A (Simple) Wood Note Holder (Starter) Project" & Drawing Practice.

That is all for now. More updates later.

Secondary ONE - 2015 - "A (Simple) Wood Note Holder (Starter) Project" & Drawing Practice

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For 'N' and 'O' Level students looking for the complete Design Journal self-help links please click here or scroll down to "Design Journal 2015 | Complete Set of Post links for Design Journaling from Beginning to the End".

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Welcome to "A (Simple) Wood Note Holder (Starter) Project" for my 2015 Secondary ONE classes. Here I share my planning processes and what my students get to do from beginning to the end. 

If there must be a Lower Secondary Coursework to be done, I always like to begin with building the necessary skills and competency before the designing phase actually begin. Many students dread the Idea Generation stage because they struggle with drawing. When it comes to Development, students struggle again because they have no experiences of the challenges and limitations on working with tools and materials. Therefore could not develop their ideas meaningfully. Come the realization phase and the students are smacked with another completely new sets of skills which they had never acquired. As a result students had to learn alongside making attempts on their actual hand-in project. There is hardly any room for risk taking, making mistakes and learning from them.

In my class, I prefer to have my students experience making. To have a feel of the tools, machines and handy-skills required of their final individual project through kicking off a simple project. To prepare my students to be more competent and confident for the Idea Generation and Development phase, I get my students to learn and practice basic drawing skills.

PART A: First off "A (Simple) Wood Note Holder (Starter) Project"

Fig. 1

What you see in the image above (Fig. 1) is a mini note holder which I planned according to the necessary skills I wish my students to experience and learn in advance, and in turn to be useful before they begin Idea Generation. There is no way any student can appreciate design if he did not know first how materials are processed or how relevant tools are being used. Only when he had the experience, the designing stage can be done with its limitations and challenges in mind. 

Students get to learn the following skills as they make this project:

1. Marking out. The image named as Fig. 2 below is an example I drew on the white board. The blue lines are added along the way as I show my students the stages of marking out on their piece of block. I draw on the board, then demonstrate on my little block. Students can refer either to the board for the marking positions or they can take a peek at my block once I am done. There is no need to mention any dimensions when I get my students to mark out. I simply use geometries. I say 'half of this'. Then 'another half of this', etc. as they mark out.
2. Shaping (I). Students took turns to use the scroll saw to cut out two curved slots. I took this opportunity to explain why I designed the slots to be 'curved' instead of straight slots for holding a piece of paper in it.
3. Shaping (II). A few steps forward, students learn to make use of a piece of Glass Paper (Sand Paper) to not only smooth the surfaces along the grain, they learn to use the glass paper alongside with blocks and/clamping on a vice to create curved edges to improve the overall aesthetics.
4. Drilling. Due to time, I fixed the 3mm drill bits and adjusted its drill depth in advance. I then explained how a drill bit is fixed, how I get the depth of the hole fixed, and the relevant stuffs about drilling. Students get to use the drilling machine to drill a 3mm hole by learning to secure their work piece on a vice accurately, and in turn securing the vice with a F-Clamp. 
5. Finishing (I): Students learn the names of the sand paper and the different grades of them. How to make use of other objects to achieve sanding in different parts and in various obstructed surfaces, etc. They'll learn about sanding along the grains and why it is preferred that way.
6. Finishing (II). A few steps forward (again). Students learn the value of finishing their project either with (spray) paints or with Lacquer. I explain to them the process of finishing and when it is best done.
7. Wire Bending: This may not be a critical skill in making. However, the students will learn about dexterity, hand-eye coordination to bend a piece of wire into the shape that is required - that will hold a piece of paper secure.Similar skills can be transferred if they wish to include wires in their personal projects later on.

Fig. 2

PART B: Drawing Practices

Fig. 3 shows a (WIP) sample set of progressing drawing skills which I planned to introduce to my students.

                             

Fig. 3

This will be a simplified drawing competency building for my Secondary One students this year. More updates later when I begin teaching them in class. That will be from week 4 onward. Basically the following are the steps:

Students learn progressively:

1. Drawing parallel lines in all directions. (Fig. 4).
2. Drawing parallel lines varying distances in all directions and all variations.(Fig. 4).
3. Drawing blocks of various shape and orientation. Bearing in mind parallel lines. Bearing in mind also first off are light guide lines, followed by heavier lines to lock in shape.(Fig. 4).
4. Drawing double parallel crosses. In preparation for Orthographic Projection placements. Double up as more practices for line drawing.(Fig. 4).
5. Drawing in a block in Orthographic Projection.(Fig. 4).
6. Drawing Oblique blocks in all possible sizes and orientation.(Fig. 4 & 5).
7. Drawing Oblique miscellaneous shapes (Triangles, Rectangles, Squares, Octagons, etc.) in all possible sizes and orientations. Bearing in mind (again) parallel lines.(Fig. 5)
8. [TEST] Drawing "A (Simple) Wood Note Holder" in Oblique. (Fig. 6).
9. Making use of Oblique principles to draw complicated objects. (Fig. 7).
10. Transforming Oblique into 1-Point Perspective Drawings. (Fig. 8).

Note: The baseline is that the slowest group must at least be competent up to skills shown from Fig. 4 to Fig 5a and able to draw the note holder show in Fig. 6. Steps 9 & 10 (Fig. 7 & 8) onward should be reserved for classes that has proven to be ready for more and for fast learners only. 

      Fig. 4 

  

Fig. 5 

                                                                                               

Fig. 6


    Fig. 7

Fig. 8

Ideally, once both Part A and B are completed, students will be more equipped and ready to tackle the requirement to sketch in the Idea Generation Phase, and have better ideas on 'how-to' develop and 'how-to' plan to make their idea and how much time is required. If the students already know how long it will take him to create a certain form using a certain method through the practices, he will be able to keep that in mind, and develop his idea according to his time allocated and how quickly he can finish them.

Till then, leave me a note if this is useful. Feel free to provide feedback or email me if you need any clarifications.

Classroom worksheets for 'Basic line work confidence and oblique drawing worksheet for upload' can be found here:

Please email mrdanielsos@yahoo.com.sg for a copy + terms and conditions for use.

Design Journal & Prototype | Complete Set of Post links for Design Journaling

To all 'N' and 'O' Level D&T Students, 

If you do find my blog and reading this now, you could be wondering how you should begin. I know this because I have already received a few emails from students asking from what do to with the 'N' and 'O' Level theme, what project they should do related to the theme, how to start, etc. 

If you are reading this now and have the same questions just mentioned, may I suggest you scroll further down this post and click on point #2  Theme: Definition + Exploration & Study. This will give you an idea how to begin your project with the theme that you have received before you email me for help.

It is important to tackle coursework in a consistent manner with a deliberate conviction to do quality work. 

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A) Being consistent means to keep up to the planned schedule. 

B) And quality? We have quality when we repeat the evaluation and improvement process, with or without help, until we believe that further attempts at improvement are not worth the effort. At this time, we believe we have done what deserves to be called quality.

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Know the design process inside out. Have the conviction to identify and solve real problems. Good problems need not be complicated. Good solution need not be difficult or complex to realise. Begin with a good and realistic Project Schedule and stick to it. Get your teacher's help, consider their suggestions for you.

This year I've decided to layout all previous links to complete your Design Journal, rather than updating them along the way like in 2014. This post you are looking at now is an updated version that was last posted on 3rd October 2014. 

Without further ado, the following are links extracted from within this blog that might be helpful for starting and ending your project:

Project Starters and Essentials

1)   PROJECT SCHEDULE and Design Activities, and 

2)   Theme: Definition + Exploration & Study

Design Need and Opportunity

3) Understanding Design Needs (Cheat Sheet HERE).

4) Understanding Design Outcomes

5) Understanding Design Needs & Opportunities and How to Write Them

6) Research Outlining and Research Techniques

7) Design Brief

8) Design Considerations and Constraints (or Limitations)

9) Design Specifications

Idea Generation and Development

10) Idea generation and Idea Generation Techniques

11) Concept Development (or Refinement) and General Making Processes

Presentation Boards and (Towards) Realisation

12) Working Drawings

13) Production Schedule

14) Presentation Drawings and Presentation Boards

15) Realisation and General Making Processes

Note that some of the links may take you to a lower secondary write-up on the same topic. However the ideas within are not far from the techniques you need to be competent in when you do a graduating class coursework. For other helps, visit the labels on the right hand side. Or simply type in the 'search' bar. You'll find it on the top right. If all else fails, email me.

All the best.

mrdanielsos.

Drafting a 'Design & Make' Lesson for Lower Secondary D&T

A glimps of my work-in-progress and the way I think and plan my work.

(Draft) and designing a 10 week Design & Technology lesson for a brand new class for a brand new semester. 

Tasked to teach a class of Secondary Two Normal (Academic) - 14 year old kids for the coming semester. 

Students will be attempting to design and make a Smart Phone Holder in the context of a suitable souvenir for the Singapore Zoological Gardens. 

The basic structure for the holder will be similar for all students but one can expect lots of animal shaped inspired designs. It will be a very tight 10 session or less.  Hope it will turn out ok. 

Since this is posted, feel free to try it out or use it for yourself if you wish but don't forget to drop me a courtesy note if you do.

To Make Progress you Need a Focused Mind to Look Out

Keep your eyes open and your mind focused on looking out for things and issues related to your theme and you'll automatically find. It's the same with the subsequence progress of your coursework. If you keep your mind focus and thinks about it often, you will get somewhere naturally. 

Anyways this voucher from Manhattan Fish Market above was found in my mailbox today. I browsed through the pages and liked the 1-for-1 deals. However it's the inner first page that caught my attention more than the rest. 

It's about observation and identifying a critical issue of how many family (or friends) behave in meal outings whose hands could not stay away from their phones. 

What's a gathering for if everyone is so glued to their smartphones. It's a nice piece of solution they have there. A fun way to encourage  family interaction rather than each staring into their smartphones. An entertaining way to keep hands off the devices and start having real family time. To top it off, the value-adding catch comes with an incentive to be rewarded with a SG$5 return dining voucher. But with one simple condition.  The box must remained untouched where all the phones will be kept in throughout the meal. Though it's a strategy to bring customers back again, it has nevertheless tackled an important issue about what family time should have been.