Fig 1: Notes on Research 
RESEARCH AND REFLECTION
I started this week by trying to define my own creative thinking process. I tend to do a lot of research – about the company, their industry, the problem or brief, looking at other competitors, similar ideas and work, and at totally different work, and going off on tangents (I’m good at that!). It’s rare that I have much of an idea at this stage, I sometimes have a half formed solution. I then go for a walk, or stop and do some cleaning, or finish for the day and go about my normal evening, watching TV, going out with friends (well, I used too…) looking after my daughter etc. That’s usually when the spark of creativity hits me.
My tutor at University called it ‘mulling’. He’d suggest you try and stop thinking about it, go off and do something else completely different, and that’s when the idea will come. I often sleep on a problem and find the solution when I wake up too.
I started researching this week, I went through the lectures and resources and then off on some tangential routes through books and the internet. The main thing that struck me about all the different theories and processes that I researched was that they all tend to have similar ideas, or overlap. The Design Council’s Double Diamond idea reminded me of the template we used at school for design projects – the Brief, Research, Initial Ideas, Development of Ideas, Final Design, Reflection on the Process. Whilst I understand it is supposed to be used as a fluid model, I couldn’t help but think that I end up going backwards and forwards throughout my process, I discover – I research, I start to define, but then I might go back and research more before coming up with a different solution. This sometimes happens during my development, I may go back and define the idea more, or even during the deliver stage. The double diamond was definitely closer to how I actually work, and I appreciate that it’s impossible to make a model that works for everyone. This linear structure is good as a guide, but not as a strict set of rules to work by.
Fig 3: Ideas Wall Posts
I started to look at some of the other creative processes from both the resources and Ideas Wall, and some from my own research. I started at Bauhaus – I did a project on the Bauhaus years ago at college, and remembered some little figures that I used for part of it, which led me back to the holistic view the school took. This ties in to so many theories of how we creatively think – this idea of exercising the mind and body, of sleep, of finding inspiration everywhere. I’ve always thought of Graphic Design as being a very broad and all-encompassing subject, not just because the type of work you can do can cover any subject, and there are (now especially) so many different mediums and ways of communicating a message, but also because I think you need a well-rounded and general knowledge of lots of things, history, culture, science, people etc. to be able to draw inspiration and ultimately have good ideas that resonate and work. Every week I end up coming back to the idea that we are inspired by everything, that being curious about the whole world in general is a good place to start as a designer, and that anything and everything can spark creativity.
I found some of the processes quite formulaic and linear, Bruce Archer’s model of the design process is very linear for example, and I am not sure my brain works that way. I tend to flit back and forwards between research, analysis, synthesis and development before I finally deliver the finished piece. I think it’s a good way of giving the process some structure, but not realistic as a practical model to use (at least for me).
The ‘six thinking hats’ technique by Edward De Bono was interesting. I think I have used versions of this without knowing it, and it’s a good way of covering all bases, or helping when you’re feeling a little uninspired. It reminded me of ‘A Smile in the Mind’ and the different types of wit – Pairs, ambiguity, homage, puns and rebuses, incongruity, coincidence, shift etc. – and I remember being advised to use this as a good place to start, to play around with my subject, if I was feeling a bit lost. It has proved a good game to play, messing around with different ideas in totally different ways and seeing things from different perspectives.
Figure 5: McALHONE, B. Stuart, D. 1995. A Smile in the Mind. 
Fig 6: PENTAGRAM. 1984. Double invitation to two events at the International Design Centre in New York – a reception for the Progressive Architecture International Furniture Awards and a lecture by NASA designers on spacecraft interiors. 
Fig 7: GAMES, A. 1963. Poster for the Ministry of Housing. 
Fig 8: SIMONS, PALMER DENTON CLEMMOW & JOHNSTON. 1992. Safe Sex Poster produced by the Terrence Higgins Trust. 
Fig 9: MENDELL & OBERER. 1979. Book Jacket for Notes of a Dirty Old Man. 
Fig 10: PLN PARTNERS. 1974. Direct Mail for Ilford. 
Fig 11: MENDELL & OBERER. 1985. Poster for a sailing regatta. 
Fig 12: BROWN, H. 1991. Stamps celebrating the two hundredth anniversary of Ordnance Survey. 
Fig 13: MICHAEL-NASH ASSOCIATES. 1993. Packaging for Harvey Nicholls Christmas Pudding.
From here, I started to look at other ways of thinking similar to this – SCAMPER which I think someone shared on the Ideas Wall – Substitute, Combine, Adjust, Modify, Put to other uses, Eliminate and Reverse.
Narrative thinking – being in the right frame of mind to tell the story well, with tension, flow and meaning. I really liked the EVOLUTION 6² model, and spent a while looking at the templates and the cards. Blooms Taxonomy – Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyse, Evaluate and Create. I liked elements of all these ways of thinking, some I have looked into more than others, and I have made a mental note to come back to some of these when I’m trying to solve a problem. I like the idea of all these thinking experiments to play around with ideas and come up with a solution – especially if it’s something that needs a particularly unique and new idea.
Figure 14: Mindshake. 2020. Evolution 6² Design Thinking Model
However, I wanted to look a bit deeper into how we actually think and problem solve. Last week I looked at ‘Thinking Fast and Slow” and the two types of thinking – the system 1 response of fast, unconscious and automatic decisions and the system 2 response of slower, effortful, conscious and complex. I definitely think this feeds into my creative process, there are many times when I have just jotted down ideas that pop into my head whilst researching, or developing ideas, that aren’t always great, and then better more well-thought out ideas that develop from more considered thought. Sometimes those initial quick reactions to something can work and develop into something amazing, but either way you need to apply both styles of thinking to get to the final piece.
I enjoyed the divided brain as well, I’ve always had a problem with the idea of being left or right, using either the logical side of the brain or the creative side of the brain. I consider myself quite a logical person, I can think through things in a logical and methodical way, and like to be organised, but I am also a creative, irrational person and I don’t believe in one or the other as a standalone trait.
The different parts of the brain all seem to give us different ways of thinking – the frontal lobe provides us with empathy, it creates space from immediate reactions. The right side of the brain is about context, makes associations and understands meaning and categories. The left side looks at things in isolation, it sees things without emotion, and helps us use tools. We need all these things to be able to creative solve problems, come up with new ideas and to think through solutions. Looking at this all in more depth has made me realise how complex both coming up with a concept that works is, and also how much goes into the consideration without us knowing, with it all being an automatic subconscious reaction, which we then work methodically through until we reach the final delivery.
Alain De Botton’s animation shows how we think too much about things or too little – we pretend to be simpler than we are, we ignore the complex emotions and inner thoughts, we fill our minds with information to stop us thinking about things that are important, and ultimately we deny ourselves the real truth about who we are, the nature of being human and self knowledge, because we know it might hurt. This in turn hurts us as we end up with poor mental health, we are defensive and close minded. I am guilty of this, especially at the moment – I fill my waking hours with podcasts, talking, TV, books, activities and don’t take enough time to just sit and be, to think and feel. I think this can probably affect the way we work, especially creatively, it is hard to empathise with others when we can’t even empathise with ourselves!
I started to look through Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research and Everyday Experience at different ways of thinking, and looked at the Gestalt approach – representation and reconstruction. The idea that we create a mental representation, and can get fixated on specific characteristics – which brought me back to the methods above, where we find ways of looking at things differently. If we approach problems from different angles, it is sometimes easier to come up with a solution without being fixated on a part of the problem which seems immovable. The information processing approach is one way in particular that I use to work through problems, I break the task down into little subgoals to work through methodically, which can help an overwhelming job seem much more achievable. The idea of understanding a problem by analysing the structure is also a technique I’m familiar with, and I thought about Bloom’s Taxonomy – I find something easier to master if I learn how to do it and understand why I am doing it. I am not good at learning by rote, but by taking something apart, and working out why, helps me to remember and understand the structure.
Fig 15: Ideas Wall Post
Convergent thinking and divergent thinking came up in my research many times as well. I think using both of these ways of thinking – a more creative open ended way of looking at a problem, coming at it from different angles and using some of the ways listed above, turning the problem into analogies and trying to solve the problem that way, looking at it from a wide range of techniques, using the ‘Smile in the Mind’ ideas, can often prove productive, but alongside this, you need to use convergent thinking – methodically working your way through a problem to find the ‘right answer’ helps too.
I kept coming back to my original thoughts on the subject – and an article was shared on the wall ‘Why a Rested Brain is More Creative’ which I found really resonated with me. The idea of working very intensively on something for a few hours, then resting, or doing a restorative activity. The article looked at how we find it counter-intuitive to only work for a while, and then to play to create amazing work – we think we must work hard continuously to create good work, that somehow it’s morally wrong to not work hard. This is not always the case, and the article mentioned several notable people who are labelled ‘geniuses’ who followed this way of working – Charles Darwin, Maya Angelou and Stephen King. The basic idea behind this theory is that when are minds are not focused on the problem, when we’re busy walking, exercising, doing something, our subconscious is still working in the background. We have a more relaxed mind which helps our subconscious explore different ideas.
I have suffered from burn-out before – I have worked and worked, only stopping to sleep and eat, and not had any proper down time. It definitely affectedly creativity, as well as my mental health, and eventually I was so exhausted, I felt ill, and anxious all the time, and I was about half as productive as I had been and eventually I had to stop. Exercise, activities that are engaging, ‘deep play’ – hobbies that are similar to the creative profession in some way, and proper time off have always helped me, not just holistically but also as part of my design process.
There is also an argument for not only getting enough sleep, but also the period between being awake and asleep as being the most creative. Sleep is essential for mental and physical health and whilst you’re asleep your brain is still working at making connections:
“New research in mice reveals that during sleep the connections between brain cells, which hold information learned throughout the day, undergo massive shrinkage. The process makes room for learning new memories while shedding weak ones.”
Bahar Gholipour, Sleep Shrinks the Brain’s Synapses to Make Room for New Learning
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sleep-shrinks-the-brain-rsquo-s-synapses-to-make-room-for-new-learning/
It’s a common saying – “Let me sleep on it” and it does help! My research into these ideas led me to notable figures, such as Salvador Dali and Eddison, who would both use a similar technique of falling asleep with something heavy or metal in their hands, and as they drift off, it would drop and make a noise, which would then wake them. They would be in the best mental state to think creatively, and claim their best ideas came from these times. These ideas, visions and thoughts at the edge of sleep are vivid, bizarre and can help you see problems in a different way.
WORKSHOP TASK
I’ve found this the most intriguing way of thinking throughout my research, I have kept finding links back to it and being able to expand on it, and I want to show this in my line drawing. I looked into some different styles, doodles, one-line drawing, diagrams and flow charts and some more sculptural designs. I liked the useless machines from the Bauhaus and the shapes and forms.
Fig 16: McCANDLESS, D. 2009. Time Lines 
Fig 17: McCANDLESS, D. 2009. Dance Genre-ology 
Fig 18: 189.com. 2012. Bruno Munari and his ‘Useless Machines’
Initially I thought about drawing a flow diagram style of mulling, with little illustrations for each stage. To make it a little more interesting, I thought about animating it and turning it into a kind of stop motion of the drawing, going through each stage in turn, but it was becoming too linear, I wanted to keep the process fluid. My ideas were becoming a bit too similar to the ‘Divided Brain’ animation, so I scrapped that idea and went back to the drawing board.
I thought about how this is interesting to me because it’s a way of thinking that I identify with, and decided to make it personal. I am obsessed with make-up videos at the moment, and it occurred to me that it might be a good way to convey my idea – we are talking about the brain, and it’s personal, so I decided to draw the flowchart on my face.
Fig 19: LUCKY PONY. 2013. Desmond and the Tutus Gig Posters. 
Fig 20: LUCKY PONY. 2013. Desmond and the Tutus Gig Posters. 
Fig 21: Iamandco.com. 2019. Abstract Make-up Looks. 
Fig 23: Iamandco.com. 2019. Abstract Make-up Looks. 
Fig 22: Iamandco.com. 2019. Abstract Make-up Looks. 
Figure 24: INGRAM, F. 2020. Make-up editorial.
I started with some doodles to get the idea ready, a flow chart of sorts, going back and forth between the thinking states. I came up with ways of graphically representing the thought processes, the research and idea development as straight lines, with tangent lines coming off some lines of thought and enquiry. The ‘mulling’ is more of a free form doodle, to represent the lines of thought being less structured and organised. The lightbulb – represents the idea.
Fig 25: Notes and Ideas 
My first attempt was very busy, and difficult to see as a whole. The photographs were flattening it, so you couldn’t see what I’d drawn on the side of my face. I thought about using my face as a base and using photoshop to draw it on, but as it was a line drawing I wanted it to look hand drawn and organic. The original photos are in colour, but I turned them monochromes as it is supposed to be black line drawing – but this attempt was just too busy. Initially I was drawing the whole flow chart, but I decided it would be better to simplify it down to the 3 different states – the research, methodical thought, the active rest, ‘mulling’ state, and the inspiration, the state between sleep and awake, or when the idea hits.
Fig 26: Photograph of the Line Drawing 
My second attempt worked well, I was able to place the design better on my face so I could photograph it. It was easier drawing on my face this time round as well! I kept it simple with just the motifs for the stages, and placed them on the relevant side of my face to represent the sides of the brain.
Fig 27: Photographs of line drawing on face 
I wasn’t happy with the final image, I didn’t think it told the story well enough, so I decided to make it into more of a diagram. I came back to this project – I printed the images out in different sizes and played around with collage and labels.
I would have liked to have spent more time on getting this drawn well on my face and photographing it better, I was running short on time and wanted to get the idea done, with more time I would take some more time on the photography and lighting. I like the fact that it is quite abstract but I’m still thinking of ways to portray each state as a line drawing… if I have time I’ll definitely have another go at executing the idea.
REFERENCES
BANFIELD, Richard 2018. ‘When To Do a Design Sprint and When To Do Something Else’ Richard Banfield 22 January 2018 [online]. Available at: https://richardmbanfield.medium.com/when-to-do-a-design-sprint-and-when-to-do-something-else-infographic-a851dc556f03 [accessed 27 February 2021]
CASCIATO, Maristella; Fox, Gary; Rochester, Katherine, “Body and Spirit,” Bauhaus: Building the New Artist, Available at: https://bauhaus.netlify.app/research/exhibitions_events/exhibitions/bauhaus/new_artist/body_spirit/ [accessed 27 February 2021]
CASCAITO, Maristella; Fox, Gary; Rochester, Katherine, Bauhaus: Building the New Artist, accessed February 28, 2021, Available at: https://www.getty.edu/research/exhibitions_events/exhibitions/bauhaus/new_artist/ [accessed 27 February 2021]
CURTIS, Leigh 2019. ‘Extreme Imagination – Inside the Mind’s Eye’ Leigh Curtis 24 May 2019 [online]. Available at: https://exeterobserver.org/2019/05/24/extreme-imagination-inside-the-minds-eye-aphantasia-exeter-ramm/ [accessed 25 February 2021]
DE BOTTON, Alain. ‘Thinking Too Much; and Thinking Too Little’. The School of Life. Available at: https://www.theschooloflife.com/thebookoflife/thinking-too-much-and-thinking-too-little/[accessed 23 February 2021]
EDWARDS, Susanna. February 2021. ‘Thoughts on Ideas’ [Lecture] GDE 710 for MA Graphic Design. Falmouth: Falmouth University February 2021
GHOLIPOUR, Bahar. 2017. ‘Sleep Shrinks the Brain’s Synapses to Make Room for New Learning’ Scientific American 1 May 2017. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sleep-shrinks-the-brain-rsquo-s-synapses-to-make-room-for-new-learning/ [accessed 26 February 2021]
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McALHONE, Beryl and David STUART. 1996. A Smile In The Mind. London: Phaidon Press.
McCANDLESS, D. 2009. Information is Beautiful. London: Collins.
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NORMAN, Don. 2019. ‘Why I Don’t Believe in Empathic Design’ Adobe XD Ideas 8 May 2019 [online]. Available at: https://xd.adobe.com/ideas/perspectives/leadership-insights/why-i-dont-believe-in-empathic-design-don-norman/ [accessed 25 February 2021]
ROBINSON, Mark. 2012. ‘Bruno Munari, The Man and his ‘Useless Machines’’. Available at: https://the189.com/design/bruno-munari-the-man-and-his-useless-machines/ [accessed 26 February 2021]
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FIGURES:
Fig 1: Notes and Research. Scanned by author.
Fig 2: Design Council 2015. The Double Diamond Design Process. From: Eleven Lessons: Managing design in eleven global brands. 2015. (p. 6).
Fig 3: Ideas Wall Post. Scanned by author. Falmouth Flexible Ideas Wall Week 5.
Fig 4: Wandelnde Architektur, Die Gliederpuppe, Ein technischer Organismus, Entmaterialisierung (Ambulant architecture, the marionette, a technical organism, dematerialization), Oskar Schlemmer, 1924. Letterpress on paper. 23.6 x 35 x 3.5 cm (open). From Oskar Schlemmer, “Mensch und Kunstfigur,” in Walter Gropius and László Moholy-Nagy, eds., Die Bühne im Bauhaus, Bauhausbücher 4, (Munich: Albert Langen, 1924) p. 16–17. The Getty Research Institute, 84-B6773
Fig 5: McALHONE, B. Stuart, D. 1995. A Smile in the Mind.
Fig 6: PENTAGRAM. 1984. Double invitation to two events at the International Design Centre in New York – a reception for the Progressive Architecture International Furniture Awards and a lecture by NASA designers on spacecraft interiors. McALHONE, Beryl and David STUART. 1996. A Smile In The Mind. London: Phaidon Press.
Fig 7: GAMES, A. 1963. Poster for the Ministry of Housing. McALHONE, Beryl and David STUART. 1996. A Smile In The Mind. London: Phaidon Press.
Fig 8: SIMONS, PALMER DENTON CLEMMOW & JOHNSTON. 1992. Safe Sex Poster produced by the Terrence Higgins Trust. McALHONE, Beryl and David STUART. 1996. A Smile In The Mind. London: Phaidon Press.
Fig 9: MENDELL & OBERER. 1979. Book Jacket for Notes of a Dirty Old Man. McALHONE, Beryl and David STUART. 1996. A Smile In The Mind. London: Phaidon Press.
Fig 10: PLN PARTNERS. 1974. Direct Mail for Ilford. McALHONE, Beryl and David STUART. 1996. A Smile In The Mind. London: Phaidon Press.
Fig 11: MENDELL & OBERER. 1985. Poster for a sailing regatta. McALHONE, Beryl and David STUART. 1996. A Smile In The Mind. London: Phaidon Press.
Fig 12: BROWN, H. 1991. Stamps celebrating the two hundredth anniversary of Ordnance Survey. McALHONE, Beryl and David STUART. 1996. A Smile In The Mind. London: Phaidon Press.
Fig 13: MICHAEL-NASH ASSOCIATES. 1993. Packaging for Harvey Nicholls Christmas Pudding.McALHONE, Beryl and David STUART. 1996. A Smile In The Mind. London: Phaidon Press.
Fig 14: Mindshake. 2020. Evolution 6² Design Thinking Model. Available at: https://www.mindshake.pt/en/design-thinking/ [accessed 26 February 2021]
Fig 15: Ideas Wall Post. Scanned by author. Falmouth Flexible Ideas Wall Week 5.
Fig 16: McCANDLESS, D. 2009. Time Lines. McCANDLESS, D. 2009. Information is Beautiful. London: Collins.
Fig 17: McCANDLESS, D. 2009. Dance Genre-ology. McCANDLESS, D. 2009. Information is Beautiful. London: Collins.
Fig 18: 189.com. 2012. Bruno Munari and his ‘Useless Machines’. Available at: https://the189.com/design/bruno-munari-the-man-and-his-useless-machines/ [accessed 26 February 2021]
Fig 19: LUCKY PONY. 2013. Desmond and the Tutus Gig Posters. Available at: https://luckypony.co.za/new-brand-new-desmond-the-tutus-new-music-video-for-future/ [accessed 26 February 2021]
Fig 20: LUCKY PONY. 2013. Desmond and the Tutus Gig Posters. Available at: https://luckypony.co.za/new-brand-new-desmond-the-tutus-new-music-video-for-future/ [accessed 26 February 2021]
Fig 21: Iamandco.com. 2019. Abstract Make-up Looks. Available at: https://iamandco.com/blogs/articles/abstract-makeup [accessed 26 February 2021]
Fig 22: Iamandco.com. 2019. Abstract Make-up Looks. Available at: https://iamandco.com/blogs/articles/abstract-makeup [accessed 26 February 2021]
Fig 23: Iamandco.com. 2019. Abstract Make-up Looks. Available at: https://iamandco.com/blogs/articles/abstract-makeup [accessed 26 February 2021]
Fig 24: INGRAM, F. 2020. Make-up editorial. Available at: https://www.vogue.com/article/tarot-card-readings-pandemic-growth [accessed 26 February 2021]
Fig 25: Notes and Ideas. Scanned by author.
Fig 26: Photograph of the Line Drawing. Photographed by the author.
Fig 27: Photographs of line drawing on face. Photographed by the author.
Fig 28: Simplified line drawing. Photographed by the author.
Fig 29: Final workshop piece. Digital image by author.
Laura Eydmann 