Creativity Techniques for Design

1
Creativity Techniques for Design

• BE20-Engineering Design w/ Comp. Applications
• Week 7 6-October-2004

2
Todays Journey

• Memo 5 Concept variant memo due
• Continued focus on concept generation and
  techniques for generating creative concept
  variants
• Reminders
• Design Report 1 due next Wednesday, 13-Oct-2004

3
Creativity

• Myth
• Creative people are highly intelligent
• Truth
• There is no correlation between creativity and
  intelligence

4
Creativity Characteristics

• Creative design engineers have
• Ability to visualize, to generate and manipulate
  visual images in their head
• Knowledge of existing electromechanical devices
• Ability to manipulate partial solutions
• i.e., they can break a large problem into smaller
  parts that are easier to work with
• Willingness to take intellectual risks

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Creativity Characteristics (2)

• Creative design engineers have
• Aversion to conformity
• Constructive nonconformist (You want to be this
  type)
• Obstructive nonconformist
• Multiple approaches to problem solving
• Creative design engineers NEED
• Work environments that allow risk taking
• Practice to develop their creative skills

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Creativity Summary

• A creative design engineer is generally a person
  of average intelligence, a visualizer, a hard
  worker and a constructive nonconformist with
  knowledge about the domain and the ability to
  dissect things in his or her head

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Creative Techniques

• Intuitive Methods rely on knowledge contained
  within team
• Brainstorming
• Group should represent a variety of disciplines
• Member must shed intellectual inhibitions
• Record all ideas (use a scribe)
• Evaluate ideas feasibility only AFTER idea
  generation concludes

8
Creative Techniques (2)

• Intuitive Methods continued
• C-Sketch (similar to 6-3-5 method)
• Each member draws and annotates a concept variant
  (or solution to a function) in an allotted time -
  maybe 10 minutes
• Drawing is circulated and next member adds to or
  modifies the concept variant
• No cross talk during this segment!
• Repeat until all drawings have circulated through
  the entire group

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C-Sketch Example

• Recall the dog food packet for persons with
  disabilities
• A first sketch of a concept to count the desired
  number of packets and then drop them into the box

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C-Sketch Example (2)

• The second pass during a C-sketch session
• Note the addition of the trap door concept

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C-Sketch Example (3)

• The third pass during a C-sketch session
• Switches in each pocket (to indicate if loaded)
  and a control knob to set the desired number of
  packets are added

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C-Sketch Example (4)

• The fourth pass during a C-sketch session
• Switches/control knobs connected to audio and
  visual feedback for worker

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Try It Out!

• Perform a brief C-Sketch session for the
  mousetrap problem
• Spend 3-4 minutes to draw an initial sketch
• Pass it around to another team member
• Continue until all have added to it

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Creative Techniques (3)

• Intuitive Methods continued
• Gallery method
• Individually created solutions hung on a wall
• All team members look at ideas
• Individually refine solutions and repeat

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Creative Techniques (4)

• Directed Search Methods Focuses solution search
  outside of team knowledge
• Patent search
• Rich source of information
• Time consuming

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Creative Techniques (5)

• Directed Search Methods (continued)
• Web search

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Creative Techniques (6)

• Directed Search Methods (continued)
• Existing products
• Benchmark other products
• Explore solution principles of a wider range of
  products

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Creative Techniques (7)

• Directed Search Methods continued
• Literature
• Journals, texts and handbooks
• Design catalogs (e.g., Thomas Register,
  McMaster-Carr, Grainger) - all have web access
• Natural systems
• Experts
• Interview designers with known experience

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Additional Resources

• Innovation tools, resources and strategies
• http//www.innovationtools.com/
• Over 200 techniques for enhancing creativity
• http//www.mycoted.com/creativity/techniques/index
  .php

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Coming Up

• Design Report 1
• Due next Wednesday, 13-October-2004
• Take your previous concept variants and conduct a
  C-Sketch session
• Incorporate the results into the concept variants
  you present in DR 1

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IDEO Video

• Next, well see a video of a company in Palo
  Alto, CA, that specializes in product design
• Notice if anything you have seen in class looks
  familiar