Disruptive strategies

THESIS HYPOTHESIS

RON ZISMAN

DIRECTED RESEARCH

PROF. TOM KLINKOWSTEIN

SUMMER 2011

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Creativity is radical discontinuity in a pattern of thought.

— David Bohm


PROBLEM

Current design work is pragmatic, but lacks ‘wow’ factor.

Find or develop a (design)

methodology that encourages

unexpected or untried approaches to

problem solving, leading to more

interesting solutions and providing

insight into a personal ‘signature’

or ‘voice’.


HYPOTHESIS

This thesis presents the hypothesis that applying disruptive strategies to problem solving interrupts habitual thinking and creates space for fresh interpretations.

People classify situations quickly, leading

to predictable responses. Forcing a ‘stop’

to the process at prescribed intervals

allows space for questions, analysis and

new understandings. When this

exploration is authentic, solutions are

more interesting and reveal the creator’s

point-of-view.


HYPOTHESIS (cont.)

The added intention—to see anew—

makes the process more wakeful,

informed and personal.

This thesis suggests that creativity can be

cultivated through systematic techniques

for changing concepts/percepts and

generating new ideas. The benefit to

designers is a tool set to help transcend

creative blockages, engage projects, and

deliver original (and meaningful)

solutions.


CREATIVE REFERENCE ITIBOR KALMAN

It is the deviated form that draws attention and produces something memorable.

“By definition, when you make something

no one hates, no one loves it. I’m

interested in imperfections, quirkiness,

insanity, unpredictability. That’s what we

really pay attention to anyway. We don’t

talk about planes flying; we talk about

them crashing.”


CREATIVE REFERENCE IILUKE WILLIAMS

Disruptive hypotheses are designed to upset comfortable equilibrium and bring about an accelerated change in thinking.

A disruptive hypothesis is an intentionally

unreasonable statement that gets your

thinking flowing in a different direction.

The process hinges on three steps:

Defining the situation; searching for

cliches; and twisting those cliches to find

new ways of seeing them. Its thinking

about what is usually ignored, and paying

attention to what’s not obvious.


CREATIVE REFERENCE IIIPABLO PACISSO

I used to draw like Raphael, but it has taken me a whole lifetime to learn to draw like a child.

For me, creation first starts by

contemplation, and I need long, idle

hours of meditation. It is then that I work

most. I look at flies, at flowers, at leaves

and trees around me. I let my mind drift

at ease, just like a boat in the current.

Sooner or later, it is caught by

something. It gets precise. It takes shape

—my next painting motif is decided.


OUTLINE

Overview • DisruptionUnderstanding the problem • Divergent Thinking

• Convergent ThinkingIdea Generation • Idea Finding

• Evaluation & SelectionImplementation • Planning

• AcceptanceConclusion


CONTENT SOURCES

designmind.frogdesign.com

disrupt.com

designthinking.com

POPTECH.com

TED.com

creativethinking.net

theawakenedeye.com

fastcodesign.com

designobserver.com

kerzweil.net

futurelab.com

bx.businessweek.com/design-thinking/

Luke Williams, Frog Design

David Kelley, IDEO

Robert McKim, Stanford d-School

Edward DeBono, Consultant

Clayton Christensen, Harvard B-School

Wlater Diethelm, Designer

Alan Fletcher, Designer


VALORISED DESIGNER I

The valorised designer should see design for its major potential contribution to making the quality of life richer and more sustainable.

This thesis embraces the idea that by

bringing rigorous attention and critical

examination to the design process,

outcomes will be richer and more

considered.


VALORISED DESIGNER II

The essential, unifying factor underlying work done across the spectrum from theory to practice would be a rigorous awareness of values.

Designers need to fuse the practical

aspects of design with a sense of

responsibility for the sociological and

ecological implications of their work.


VALORISED DESIGNER III

A sophisticated society needs sophisticated designers who need to be informed and critical as well as practically creative.

The intent of this thesis is to

integrate persistent critical inquiry

with the design process, and thus

promote creative approaches to

problem solving.


ADJACENT POSSIBILITIES

Fear, lack of confidence, poor self-image—we are what we think, right? How will I be creative if I don’t see myself as a particularly creative person?

Can I learn to set all of this aside,

lighten up, and play?


Education

Disruptive strategies