Wednesday, March 5, 2014

A tangential process of creative ideation: Poster 1


(click on image to enlarge)
The Gyro Maglev
Posterized painting, computer collage, watercolour and crayon
©2011 Charlene Brown                     

This is the first in a series of posters I compiled three years ago outlining a tangential process of creative ideation and invention. Using the development of sustainable technology as an example, I made use of Google – the ultimate tangential research engine – in this five-step process.
1.     Decide just what it is you want to be able to do. State this in as few words as possible, and do a Google search on these words. 
2.     Add some secondary objectives and possibilities. Consider the three E’s for more Google search words:
·      energy
·       economics
·      environment
3.     Draw a diagram, labelled and annotated with new words and phrases found in Step 2.
4.     Transform the material you have so far (for example, make it smaller, run it backwards)
5.     Give it a really good name.  Remember it doesn’t have to be obvious how it is going to work.
The steps as shown in this first example:

  1. objective: design new forms of transportation.
  2. secondary factors: collaged word pattern
  3. diagram: flying saucers
  4. transformation: combine with magnetic levitation
  5. gyro-maglev (the ‘bootstrap’ (or crack-pot) concept of magically holding itself up, might need some work)