Posted by Lindsay , Saturday, April 23, 2011 12:42 AM
The books next chapter is about the third stage of design, conceptualization. It begins with an idea that has been stressed throughout the book; sustainability. It gives the many questions that a designer should think of in terms of creating an environmentally sustainable project. The next section states the four steps that help a person conceptualize information. They are: 1) Fill in as many gaps as you can, 2) Ground concepts into a logical reality, 3) Presenting your concept in a clear manner, 4) Must be familiar with the inner workings on a project so that you can change it easily. Number two did not make much sense to me. The section also goes on to talk about how the word Gestalt is German for shape, pattern, or form. There was a school of thought called the Gestalt school, and they created a belief that the "whole is greater than the sum of its parts." I think that in most cases, this is true, although there are certain exceptions. There are five rules that are attached to the law of the school, and I found them to be correct. It also talks about how there are open and closed gestalt. Open gestalt is when there are enough elements to suggest a whole, but not enough to create an entire design. Closed gestalt is when all significant positions are taken.
The next section of the chapter is about brainstorming. It begins with talking about keeping a design sketchbook and journal with you at all times. I think this is a great idea, and I always have my small notebook with me to write stuff down on. It helps me remember things, and to write down ideas I have for projects. The rules of brainstorming are given next, and there are a lot so I won't list them here. They are very helpful though, and the few that I liked were to set an agenda, set a time limit, write down all ideas and encourage freewheeling.
I found the next section of the chapter to be pretty interesting. It talks about using simile, metaphor, and analogy while creating concepts. The book says that similes are useful because they lead to questions that are helpful in brainstorming. It says that metaphors are helpful because they create a mental image, and create an understanding of the concept of it. The last term, analogy, is said to be useful because it helps to point out relationships that may not have been previously visible. The next section talks about more brainstorming tools. We created mind maps previously in class, and this part talks about creating them. It says to describe, compare, associate, construct, use, and troubleshoot different parts of your design on the map. It also gave different ideas of how to make the maps, most of them I had already heard about in class. The next part talks about analyzing concepts. One way to analyze is by listing the pros and cons of the ideas. Another way is to visualize and sketch out different ideas. The last idea is to use the SCAMPER process. It stands for substitute, combine, adapt, minimize/magnify, put to other uses, eliminate/elaborate, and reverse/rearrange. The next section talks about presenting ideas. There was a large list of do's and dont's given, and they all seem very helpful.
The last section of the chapter is about an interior designer and professor named Jill Pable. She begins by talking about her background with different majors before she got to interior design, and how they all helped her see the connections with design in the world. I agree with her when she said that a well-rounded approach is never a waste. It is great to have a different insight on things based on different experiences. She recently has been researching homeless people, and has been looking in different places for solutions to their problems, including in wellness psychology. She talks about a few of her ideas, and they are actually very interesting. I haven't heard of anything like them before. She also talks about how people need to intuitively think about sustainability in design, not look at it as a separate idea. Design school is held with a higher regard and has high standards than when she went through it. She ends with talking about how she feels that we should have a holistic approach to the challenges that arise. Altogether, I agreed with most of the things that she talked about. I really do think that designers should have a better background in other subjects, it helps a lot. The chapter ends with giving two small ideas for brainstorming and making a concept board.
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